《Tann Angle's Formula》 Introduction Kasssh~ The loud hiss from the energy drink penetrated through the silence of the night. The dancing lights of the city reflected off the smooth curve of the aluminium surface and alighted the amber eyes of the young woman holding it up. She sat on the ledge of the rooftop, legs dangling precariously down the side and hair swaying in the wind. On her lap was a silver laptop, the flickering light from the screen washed the concrete floor with a dim glow. She tipped her head back and took a sip of the divine drink. Eyes closed, she savoured the rich and heavy flavour of the drink as it slid down her throat. Delicious. Dragging her eyes back to the screen, she paused the video with a tap on the keyboard. ¡°That¡¯s another episode finished,¡± she murmured, ¡°maybe I should submit to the website someday¡­¡± She was cut off from her thoughts when a movement from her peripherals caught her attention. It has arrived. Here we go again. A middle-aged man climbed up the ladder and clambered up slowly onto the windy rooftop. His dark suit was dishevelled and speckled with dirt, the long night wasn¡¯t doing it any favours either, the breeze only ruffled and creased the cloth even further. He stopped a few feet away, stepping on top of the wires crisscrossing the rooftop and stood motionless with no indication that he heard her. Well, I guess I¡¯m playing ¡®white¡¯ this time.The woman smirked. Eyes locked on the screen, her fingers flew over the keyboard in a series of quick taps .¡°There you go, enjoy.¡± A surge of current surged out of the junction of wires the man was stepping on and immediately poured into his body. His limbs twisted and flailed viciously, and crashed onto the floor. His face was contorted with pain, mouth opened in a silent scream, as he flopped on the floor. The only sounds she could hear was the thudding of flesh against the stone and the crackle of sparks.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Soon, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. She typed another command. The plastic coverings of the wires become insulating once again and the man drooped lifelessly, limbs landing awkwardly. Like a doll, she thought, how fitting. It wasn¡¯t enough, however, and the man manoeuvred his hands under his chest and pushed, struggling to a kneel. Cough. ¡°Finally revealing yourself?¡± The woman typed out a few more commands before finally turning and faced toward the man. Cough. Cough. As the man hacked violently, screws, wires, steel nuts, and all forms of scraps fell from his mouth. Ew. The man¡¯s limbs enlarged and the seams on his shirt and trousers burst, revealing a dark red tissue. His jaw hung open and was unhinged as a dark mass formed and grew inside the space of his mouth, slits opened to reveal soulless orange eyes the size of a shot put the ball. The glimmering eyes spun before locking on to the woman. Bundles of wire burst out of the body of the man. Dark metal tips pierced through the skin, across his chest and fingertips, growing longer and sharper, forming foot-long spikes and razor-sharp claws. A monstrous groan erupted from its throat, carrying to the surrounding blocks. She could feel the floor trembling with it... Slowly, it raised its long claws and reached towards her. Legs stumbling forwards, unaccustomed to the additional weight. The woman narrowed her eyes and studied it a moment longer as if waiting for¨C A beam of light blurred across her vision and tore through its face. Bloodshot eyes turned into ash within milliseconds and the roof was splattered with gore. The woman blinked and stared at the remains of the creature. The majority of its mutated head has vanished, fluid pooled and dripped from the crevice where the rest of its appendage should be. Metal scraps grew loose and its body fell apart, long pipes clattered onto the cold stone floor. Electromagnetic accelerator: Using current and its magnetic fields a projectile is propelled forward from the induced magnetic force, accelerating it to speeds up to four thousand meters per second. Not a bad job, She thought, for a prototype. With a sigh, she stood on the ledge of the roof and faced the city once more, and the wind lifted her golden tresses into the air. She took another swing from the can and downed the rest of her drink in a few large gulps. ¡°Tastes like¡­¡± She smacked her lips and crumpled the can in her grip, pondering ¡°Cranberries.¡± The Creator ...Seven¡­ Six¡­ Five¡­ The second hand ticked steadily as the hour grew closer to seven. Sunlight spilt from the windows and past the drawn curtains, filling the room with warmth. The bedroom was spacious, the furniture lined up the walls, leaving the centre empty. One one side of the room, a queen-sized bed was situated next to a workspace, the white desk has monitors surrounding it and a chair tucked underneath, wires bundled up following the edge of the floor to the mainframe computer beside it. On the opposite side was a dusty wooden shelf that spanned the entire wall, rows of trophies of different sizes were lined orderly, some reflected the sunlight off their golden surface while other crystals shone brightly. All in all, a cosy place to live in. Four¡­ Three¡­ Two¡­ One... Zero. Dr Tann Angle jolted up from her bed as if wrenched by an invisible wire. She sat motionless for a few moments before quickly sliding out from underneath her comforter. She shuffled to her desk and reached down to a drawer and took out a syringe labelled, ¡°40% caffeine¡±. Brain still muddled with sleep, she fumbled with the injector for a moment before she managed to remove the plastic cap. She stabbed the needle into her arm and watched as the brown liquid slowly disappeared from the container. She released a small sigh of relief as the caffeine tricked into her bloodstream. When all the liquid poured into her body, she removed the syringe and threw it into a tube-like object connected to the ground beside her desk. Tann headed to the bathroom to freshen up before starting to dress in her usual workwear; a button-up shirt followed by slacks. She spent a few minutes in front of her rectangular mirror working through the knots in her midnight hair. It was another beautiful day in her world. She threw on her signature lab coat and stepped leisurely out of her government apartment (a good thing about living government apartments is that you don¡¯t need to pay tax), a new modern complex with metallic lining decorating the surface. The windows were huge and its walls were sprayed with reflective paint that made blend into the surroundings. Tann stepped onto a raised platform with ease, triggering a sensory device. ¡°Good morning, Dr Angle,¡± a synthetic voice spoke, ¡°where would you like to go?¡± ¡°To the MFE¡± Tann replied. Soundlessly, the block of ground she was standing on lifted, glass panes slip out and up the edges, acting as a barrier to prevent her from tumbling off if she were to lose her balance. The block rose into the air and carried her along invisible pathways. Smart City 1: Proposed long ago by both environmentalists and engineers that personalised ¡®transport blocks¡¯ might be the best way for short distance transportation of personal use. The flying platform utilises standard routes not unlike roads, that optimises the path to the intended destination, therefore causes minimal traffic and almost no chance of accidents. As buildings flew by, Tann reached into her coat pocket and took out another caffeine injector. ¡°Good, I can probably last the meeting today.¡± ¡°We have arrived at your destination. ¡± the same monotone voice announced, ¡°the MFE.¡± In front of her loomed a large construct. The storied building is lined with long rows of floor to ceiling windows that were tinted grey reached, leaving strips of beige walls exposed between them. At the centre, however, is a huge glass globe twice the height of the sandy complex surrounding it, the glass coated with the one-way film. Kinda looks like an enormous disco ball. Tann thought. The MFE, Multi-Function Emulator: The construction of the building took over 50 years, and its structure is constantly modified since the initial opening. It is one of the top research facilities in the world, consisting of the largest virtual database as well as the greatest nitrogen coolant reserves in existence. There are currently over 5500 people registered who work in the MFE. The MFE has inspired many architects to follow in its design, and Tann couldn¡¯t keep track of the rising number of museums that have adopted this spherical shape. The only difference was that the MFE is ten times the size of the other spherical structures. The transport block hovered down towards the ground and the glass fence retreated down to the base. The doctor stepped off the platform, throwing a word of gratitude over her shoulder before headed towards the building ¡°Have a good day, Dr Tann Angle,¡± the voice said in response. Then, the block sank into the ground, merging seamlessly with the surrounding texture of the floor. Tann entered the main hall of the structure, she tried her best to not stare at the floor. Whoever who designed the rest building probably had a sick leave when the construction of the lobby was planned, it is the worst design she had ever seen. The flooring is practically a gigantic mirror, Tann is convinced that it¡¯s even more polished than the mirror she had in her bathroom, the lights from above reflected off the surface and seared into the back of her eyelids every single time she walked across this accursed lobby. Tann tried to force her eyes staring straight ahead as she stalked quickly across the bright expanse but found that her eyes were drawn down to the floor¡­ I don¡¯t even know if I should thank or hate the designer of this floor, thought Tann, blinking away another afterimage of the overhead lights. On one hand, there was a chance of being blinded by the lights, on the other¡­ many of her female colleagues still haven¡¯t realised the reason why she had forgone wearing skirts. I should just enjoy the view while it lasts, Tann smirked gleefully at the thought. ¡°Good morning Dr Angle!¡± one of the assistants at the admission counter called out, ¡°Dr Cotanian is waiting for you upstairs.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Tann replied, quickly masking her face emotionlessly. A few passersby have turned their heads, catching their conversation. Great, the last thing I need is another crowd of tourists. ¡°Just call me Tann as I¡¯ve said before.¡± ¡°Sorry Dr An¨CTann, sorry, Tann,¡± the assistant ruffled his short-black locks on his head, embarrassed. Smiling politely, she walked past the counter hastily. ¡°Jesus,¡± Tann muttered, ¡°what kind of brain injury did that guy get during military training? Amnesia?¡± She sped towards the lifts quickly, if Dr Cotanian was waiting for her upstairs, gods forbid her from waiting even longer, that woman infamous for her lack of patience in the MFE. To Tann¡¯s annoyance, there was already a group of people crowded around the lifts. For one of the most advanced facilities in the world, the building¡¯s elevator system needs some work. Instead of assigning the six available elevators to different floors of the building like most modern establishments, they kept it universal. This meant everyone had to wait for the same lifts and that they all took over ten minutes each to return to the lobby. Which also creates the perfect opportunities for tourists to bombard researchers since they¡¯re not allowed upstairs, Tann thought with a sinking feeling of dread as she spotted a crowded slowly meandering towards her direction.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The tours¡­. She¡¯d forgotten about the tours! She tried to duck her head as they drifted closer, facing away in hopes that they won¡¯t recognise her. Alas, Lady Luck wasn¡¯t on her side. MFE Tour: Since being responsible for the research of Psychological Probability, the MFE had become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the Capital. You can book a tour at the price of 50 EC each for a detailed tour of the MFE ¡°Is that Tann Angle?¡± an enthusiastic whisper interrupted the guide¡¯s monologue. Immediately all thirty visitors turned towards her, nudging each other around in hopes of catching a glimpse of her face. Tann turned around slowly, she tried to place a welcoming smile on her face, but only managed to give a pained grimace. The reaction was instantaneous. They rushed forward as one, exclaiming their delight and asking questions. The guide fought admirably for control, trying to wave the tourists back as they tried to push past him. Noticing a few others who seemed confused, he immediately took the opportunity, cranking the mike a few notches. ¡°Dr Tann Angle, our own very celebrity here in the MFE,¡± the guide said proudly, LED badge flashing on his chest, ¡°she is ranked as the top computer scientist of all time for three years consecutively, which no one has achieved before.¡± The crowd oohed and aahed as the guide continued his speech. Tann stood awkwardly at the side, fiddling with the injector inside her coat pocket. People always expected she would be used to the fame and attention by now, however, she was the exact opposite. The fame only increased her anxiety around the large crowds, worried about the criticism following her every action. She reached for her phone and tried to look busy by tapping on the screen and furrowing her eyebrows in ¡®concentration¡¯. A few coworkers beside her shook their heads in amusement at this display and she flushed in embarrassment, giving them a sheepish smile. Trying her best to ignore the not-so-discrete clicks and flashes, she almost didn¡¯t notice the slight tap on her shoulder. Tan whipped her head around to find one of the tourists beaming at her. The tourist was dressed relatively casual compared to the rest of the group, khaki pants and pale shirt with a leather jacket thrown over. ¡°Yes?¡± Tann squeaks out. ¡°I-I was wondering if I can ask for your autograph,¡± He stammered out, holding out an autograph sheet. Tann nodded silently and quickly scribbled down her signature. ¡°Thank you!¡± The man practically shouted, radiating joy. A few other tourists reached for their bags and Tann knew that she had to leave before more of them could corner her. The small ¡®ding¡¯ of the elevator sounded like the bells of angels to her right then. Tann quickly excused herself and hurried into the elevator. I am going to request a switch to a work from home job, she vowed. The door shut just as voices started to rise. She sighed in relief when the voices faded away, too high off the ground for the voices to reach. As the lift arrived at her floor, she can¡¯t help but feel that she¡¯d forgotten something else. The thought nagged at the back of her mind since morning... ¡­ ¡°GOOD MORNING TANNY! DO YOU WANT SOME TEA? OR COFFEE? OR PERHAPS C-O-T-A-N-I-A-N!¡± Yeah¡­Her¡­ Cotanian was a short woman and despite Tann¡¯s height being just¡­ average, she had to tilt her head down to look at the pint-sized doctor. Aside from her bubbly personality and short stature, Cotanian was anything but a younger sister, her. She was wearing a black dress trimmed white at the edges, with a full skirt above the knees and a white half-apron with lace on top. A maid uniform. She waited excitedly, eyes practically glowing with intensity, for Tann to respond to her usual morning greeting. Tann smiled weakly, hand reaching out awkwardly and petted Cotanian¡¯s blond mane ¡°Morning.¡± Cotanian beamed, nodding happily. She spun around and gestured Tann to follow her. Glancing over dark bags under Tann¡¯s eyes, she asked abruptly, ¡°What¡¯s gotten your panties in a twist?¡± Tann rolled her eyes at the crude speech of the smaller woman. ¡°I just want an injector¡­¡± ¡°You mean these?¡± Cotanian drew out a few injectors from her white skirt¡¯s pocket. ¡°Thanks,¡± smiled Tann, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you if I used up mine.¡± Cotanian blushed a little and withdrew her injectors, then she produced a virtual display of a time table from her pink watch, ¡°As I told you yesterday, Dr Tanny, we have a meeting today with¨C¡± ¡°How much time do we have left?¡± Tann interjected. It was too early in the morning to be exposed to Cotanian¡¯s lectures. ¡°Around 20 minutes,¡± Cotanian smiled, not at all bothered with the interruption, ¡°wanna go to the cafe¡­?¡± ¡°I think I should check in with the others,¡± Tann replied curtly. ¡°Sure¡­¡± The two marched through the curved pathway along the circumference of the MFE. One side of the corridor is lined with glass, panning from the floor to the ceiling, allowing the grass field surrounding the building to be in full view. Wall-mounted up-lighters lined the other side, brightening the already illuminated hall, the artificial light mixing with the natural to produce a warm, white tint on the walls. As they approached a door spray-painted, ¡®CREATORS only¡¯, she could see the corners of Cotanian¡¯s lips quirk down. ¡°I told Casio so many times already,¡± muttered Cotanian angrily, ¡°and he still hasn¡¯t replaced this stupid door.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± asked Tann, bemused. ¡°The spray paint just doesn¡¯t fit in this facility¡­¡± said Cotanian harshly as she pushed the door open(although it was an automatic door) forcefully, and strode in. ¡°Dear God, why did you put me on a team filled with such weirdos.¡± Tann took a surreptitious glance over her teammate¡¯s clothing. You took the words right out of my mouth. ¡°Hey, hey! Who are you calling a weirdo?¡± A man wearing a triangular prism-shaped hat about the age of 20, slouched on a desktop chair, spinning round and round, legs raised so that they were skimming the floor. ¡°Morning, Dr Tann.¡± ¡°Morning Dr Phurder,¡± Tann returned. ¡°Heard you are heading for a meeting soon,¡± Phurder Puler sat up from his chair and shoved a handful of chips from one of the opened bags of ¡®Crystals¡¯ (basically blue coloured chips) from on his desk, ¡°can you ask them for a pay rise?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Tann strode closer and loomed over him, looking down, ¡°have you finished checking section 172.16.00 yet?¡± ¡°Ehh¡­¡± Phurder put down his chips and swiped his hand quickly, a virtual display of program pages appeared atop his desk. However, before Phurder could make another move, Cotanian rushed towards the display and pointed at a link on one of the sites. ¡°Wait.¡± Cotanian smirked, ¡°do you mind clicking there?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± with a single click, the site was closed. ¡°THAT IS NOT WHAT I¡­¡± Cotanian trailed off. ¡°What is it?¡± Tann turned to her blushing colleague calmly, ¡°is there something wrong with the program?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Cotanian lowered her head, ¡°is just¡­he was looking at something¡­¡± ¡°Everyone has their right to enjoy their stuff,¡± Phurder lay back again on his chair, ¡°I¡¯m already way over the legal age.¡± ¡°¡­But looking at those things in the most¡­¡± Tann waved her arm lazily, ¡°It is all right, Cotanian. I sometimes¡­You heard nothing¡­ Oh here comes Mr Cine Graff.¡± ¡°Wanna see my stash?¡± Phurder wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and immediately smack upside the head by Cotanian. ¡°Sorry,¡± Tann blushed nervously, ¡°I''m not into that type¡­¡± With a slight sigh, Cine Graff moved slowly across the room and ignored all the other living beings who stared at him, ¡°I wanna kill myself.¡± ¡°Mr CINE¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a beautiful day Mr Cine?¡± Tann forced out a smile, although Cine didn¡¯t seem to notice it at all. ¡°Not so beautiful in the world,¡± he spoke as if these were his last words, ¡°great, we got five levels 8 storms, 5 earthquakes and 3 droughts that have lasted for 100 units. Uh-huh¡­..¡± With the speed of a turtle, he pressed a few buttons on his wooden keyboard (there were rumours that wooden keyboards improve sleep quality), ¡°gonna fix them fast, or the world is gonna die and I am gonna die and¡­¡± ¡°CINE!¡± someone sprinted into the room and shook Cine like a dummy, ¡°I told you to wait for me at the admin!¡± Instantly life appeared again in Cine¡¯s grey eyes, ¡°What?! I waited for half an hour?!¡± ¡°Aha,¡± the person turned to Tann and the others, ¡°morning Dr Tann.¡± Similar to Cotanian, she had shiny blond hair, but instead of tying them neatly into a firm bundle, the person¡¯s hair was untied, loosely spread around her entire head (including her face which made her seem like a psychopath). ¡°Morning Ms Theta,¡± Tann nodded, ¡°what is the progress?¡± ¡°Yea,¡± Theta brushed away the strands of hair covering her eyes, ¡°Cine and I just fixed the bug in the new texture pack.¡± ¡°You mean H.E111?¡± Cotanian read off her digital notepad. ¡°Yes,¡± Cine replied livelily. ¡°Nice job you two,¡± Tann turned back to Cotanian, ¡°have you seen Dr Bino Distry?¡± Cotanian shook her head, then she tabbed her watch to produce a three-dimensional display of MFE¡¯s floors, ¡°Damn it, I can¡¯t track him anywhere.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann sighed, ¡°tell him to fix the coolant release function, we experienced multiple overheating from yesterday¡¯s run.¡± Cotanian checked her watch once again and told Tann, ¡°The meeting should be starting soon, you should better get there now.¡± Scientific Community: The most respected organisation in Tann¡¯s world. It was initiated thousands of years ago by a group of philosophical thinkers who research the questions regarding the physical and social elements of the world. Since its establishment, the Scientific Community grew rapidly with a current membership of sixty-thousand specialised researchers. With its enormous reserve of funds, the Scientific Community contributed to almost all research topics in the world, MFE was one of them. Tann stepped in confidently into the meeting room. All the seats around the long, rectangular table were filled with people in lab coats with unique coloured rims (A symbolic representation of members of the Scientific Community. Also, different types of lab coat rims represent the different levels of authority in a field.) Everyone¡¯s eyes gazed upon Tann as she entered the speaker¡¯s stage and powered up the virtual projector. Tann coughed slightly, although she already had everyone''s attention, ¡°Researchers of the world, I am here to report on the final stage of the project ¡®EARTH¡¯¡­¡± Earth ¡°Social science,¡± an old man in gold-rimmed lab coat set in his cosy antique armchair, in his hand he held a glass of clear liquid, he put the glass right between the dim orange lamp and his eyes as if he was trying to read secret messages hidden in the liquid, ¡°a study of the behaviour and relationships of an intelligent species¡¯s society.¡± ¡°I knew that very well, Dr Mat,¡± opposite the old man was a young man who sat uncomfortably in a wooden chair, similarly to Dr Mat, he was wearing a lab coat with gold rims, ¡°if the reason for you to call me¡­¡± ¡°I want you to understand the importance of social science,¡± Dr Mat sipped the liquid, he then pointed at a chessboard, ¡°the idea is simple. If I want to predict the outcome of a chess game, I just need to analyse all the positions of the pieces and record every change, soon enough I will be able to predict the flow of the game and ultimately, its future.¡± Dr Mat¡¯s eyes lit up as the other person picked up the chessboard and played it in his hands, ¡°That is what you are good at, creating algorithms to observe and record. To summarise all the data collected and compose them into a fine harmony that explains everything.¡± Dr Kruskal finally felt the heaviness of the night, slowly, he put down the chessboard, ¡°I¡¯d be happy to help, but can you elaborate in detail your exact¡­¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Like a lightning strike, Dr Mat pulled out a sheet (an ancient way of recording), ¡°Here, take a look.¡± He handed the thin sheet to Dr Kruskal. ¡°Sampling,¡± Dr Mat sat up from his armchair and put down his glass as Dr Kruskal stared at the sheet covered in scribbles, ¡°you just heard the word ¡®census¡¯. In terms of sampling strategies, a census produces the most accurate, reliable data.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Dr Kruskal swallowed hardly, ¡°this¡­is not¡­¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Dr Mat said in an assuring tone, ¡°no need to rush, you have plenty of time, or rather, our kind have plenty of time. Yes, a census accounts for every single subject that exists, and it will take an extremely strong processing power.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think any computer in the world can¡­¡± Dr Kruskal started, but he looked down again at the paper, ¡°Are you sure the community will approve such¡­a project? We are speaking here, a full-scale model of¡­our world¡­A single intelligent bot takes computing power¡­¡± ¡°I am the chair of the community,¡± smiled Dr Mat, ¡°I think it is getting late already, and I don¡¯t want to keep your family waiting for too long. But as the chair of the Scientific Community, I promise that the scientific community will be fully committed to supporting your team.¡± ¡°I will try my best,¡± Dr Kruskal stood up and shook Dr Mat¡¯s hand, ¡°but I don¡¯t think either of us will see the completion of this project.¡± ¡°Have faith,¡± Dr Mat walked towards the door and opened it for Dr Kruskal, ¡°just keep in mind that what you are doing is the greatest scientific experiment ever conducted by our kind. Its result will allow us to learn about ourselves and to prevent any future conflicts among us.¡± ¡°One final question, Dr Mat.¡± ¡°Please say it.¡± ¡°What will this project be named?¡± ¡°EARTH.¡± Entrance Tann finally reached the final question in the Q&A section. ¡°Dr Angle,¡± one member in blue-rimmed lab coat asked, ¡°how many more tests until we can finally say that the project is ready to be accessed by all researchers?¡± Tann paused for a second, fixing her sentences, ¡°I am going to enter the world myself, today. I assume within the next few months this project should be complete, and I can finally take a nap. That is the last question? Good, I should get going now.¡± ¡°That was such a BRILLIANT speech!¡± Cotanian jumped out of nowhere trying to hug Tann. Tann embraced her colleague, but she purposely left a gap between their chests, ¡°Thank you. Were you awake this whole time?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Cotanian smiled, ¡°so you are going in today?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say right now,¡± said Tann who took out her caffeine injector and plunged it into her arm. Together, they left the meeting zone. The Core: as its name suggested, the Core is located in the exact centre of the EMU, it is the heart of EMU that functions as the central processor of the whole simulation. Its secondary function is for the login/out usages. Tann looked through the clear window of the control room. Covered in a carbon-alloy coating, the Core looked darker than usual thanks to the pure white surroundings, like a spherical vantablack in snow. A tiny entrance was linked to the control room via a narrow flyover made of glass, that seemed almost invisible. The control room was filled with virtual displays of different graphs and running programs. Unlike the common room, where all the CREATORS work normally, the control room was actually neat and ordered, everything was at where they meant to be. ¡°Someone should be here,¡± Tann uttered annoyedly, according to the policy, there must be a member of the CREATORS in the control room in case of emergency. ¡°Sorry,¡± pushing a long trailer filled with toolboxes and back up battery packs, a slim person rushed into the room, ¡°I was in zone C.¡±. ¡°There you are Dr Bino,¡± said Cotanian happily, ¡°I had been searching for you.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Good to see you, Dr Bino,¡± Tann started, ¡°have you¡­¡± ¡°Fix the coolant?¡± Bino replied quickly, he picked up all the stuff from the trailer and in quick successions, like an industrial robot, he placed each one neatly into its own gap among the storage cabins, ¡°Yea, they are all set to go. Not a big deal. Just a minor issue. I have increased the coolant flow rate. I have activated chamber P and K.¡± One of Bino¡¯s most interesting ability was understanding someone before he/she reaches 30% of his/her sentence, but, it became annoying to most people as he will cut in bluntly. ¡°Sure¡­¡± Tann muttered, ¡°nice job¡­¡± ¡°Dr Bino¡­¡± Cotanian began. ¡°Yea,¡± Bino interrupted, ¡°sorry for my bluntness. I¡¯m trying to improve. I will try to minimise my urge to interrupt. Please do understand me. My main objective is to save time.¡± ¡°Whatever you say, ¡°Cotanian turned around and rolled her eyes, ¡°fine, prepare for¡­¡± ¡°Log in,¡± said Bino. He walked to one of the monitors and swiped it with his boney finger, ¡°You may enter the Core.¡± As if fleeing from a disease, Cotanian grabbed Tann¡¯s arm and hurried out of the glass gate which lifted slowly. ¡°I¡¯m not as sporty as you Cotanian,¡± Tann laughed. ¡°I¡¯m enough of that cancer,¡± Cotanian scuffed Tann harshly. Suddenly Tann realised Cotanian was holding her hand which caused her to blush instantly, ¡°Cotanian¡­¡± Cotanian turned her face slightly, with a childish smile she giggled, ¡°Anything wrong Dr Tann?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± So, the two walked across the glass flyover, holding hands. Finally, they reached the Core. Cotanian put her white hand softly on the smooth surface of the Core. A blue rim formed around her hand, indicating that her genetic identity, as well as blood vessel patterns, had been clarified. As a result, a part of the Core¡¯s surface broke apart and faded like dust, leaving an entrance. ¡°Behind you Dr Tann,¡± Cotanian withdrew her hand from the surface. ¡°Thanks.¡± The inner part of the core could only be described by one word, ¡®dark¡¯. Since some components may be damaged by visible light. The inner side must be kept dark at all time. Instead, they use visible light waves, the ¡®light¡¯ inside consisted of a low-frequency radio wave. Thus, soon after they enter, Tann and Cotanian took out specialised glasses from their pockets. In the centre of the room was a throne-like chair surrounded by vires, tubes, and all sorts of sensors. ¡°Have a seat there while I prepare the launch,¡± Cotanian pointed at the chair and turned to the control panels located beside the throne, ¡° just gonna take a minute. ¡± ¡°Take your time,¡± Tann smiled and sat atop the throne. Soon, she could feel the vibration of her surroundings as Cotanian started the ¡®login¡¯. ¡°Ready to deploy the mirror.¡± It was actually a mirror that lowly descended from above and stopped as Tann could see her entire face¡¯s reflection. ¡°Are your ready Dr Tann?¡± Cotanian asked her finger right above the touch screen of the control panel. ¡°Any time,¡± Tann replied, then she whispered under her breath, ¡°let us see if they improved the drinks¡­¡± Then, Tann looked at her reflection again. Slowly but surely, her reflection¡¯s hair colour switched gradually from blue to a lighter colour, golden. Ivy It took Tann a while to get familiar with her new appearance. Her hair was now long and golden, with a few blue strands at the ends, her cheeks were less boney, her eyes were slightly larger, her skin was less pale, and she was at least 10 cm taller. Despite all these, Tann seemed to be caring about something else, she hugged around her chest and felt her new¡­width¡­ ¡°Nice,¡± she hugged more tightly around herself, ¡°Cotanian sure knows what I want.¡± ¡°Tann, can you hear me?¡± Cotanian¡¯s voice appeared in Tann¡¯s mind. ¡°Yes,¡± Tann replied, ¡°the communication fluency is much better than last time. Well done Cotanian!¡± ¡°I spent a lot of time on this,¡± Cotanian laughed, ¡°let me just talk you through the new login site.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann sat up from a wooden chair. She was in a half-empty room, which contained a mirror, a table and an empty shelve. Of course, there was no window at all, to prevent accidental sightings of the login by ¡®subject bots¡¯. ¡°Okay,¡± Cotanian could be heard scrolling through a digital list, ¡°on the table, you can find your identity card and other documents. After that, downstairs, you can see a garage, and there should be a bicycle which you can use.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Tann turned to the table, and opened one of its drawers, ¡°what about my control panel?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Cotanian said embarrassedly, ¡°you can find it in the room next door. I¡¯ll now hand over to Dr Phurder because the graphics team needs me to check on their program.¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Phurder¡¯s sharp voice entered Tann¡¯s mind, ¡°yea, I¡¯ll just gonna sit here and if you have problems, I¡¯ll answer.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann picked up a card that said,¡± Student ID.¡± Name: Ivy Whitman Gender: F Age:20 Year:1 You can access all printing devices with this card within Qchong University as well as student lobbies and unspecialised laboratories*. *: Specialised laboratories will be indicated on your map. ¡°Who came up with this name?¡± Tann wondered, ¡°Well, at least her name is not an angle.¡± ¡°By the way,¡± there was something Tann forgot to ask about, ¡°are there any grocery stores around?¡± She could hear Phurder opening another bag of chips, ¡°Grocery stores? I see what you mean. There should be a bus station two kilometres away and there should be a store right on the next stop.¡± ¡°How often are the buses?¡± Tann asked eagerly about these important pieces of information, ¡°Which direction is to the station?¡± ¡°Should be at coordinates 134887, 328945, 000273,¡± Phurder shook the plastic above his head to empty the remaining chips, ¡°I mean the bus station. There should be a bus every hour¡­¡± ¡°HOUR!?¡± Tann cried, ¡°I am changing that!¡± ¡°Sure whatever,¡± Phurder replied casually, ¡°just don¡¯t make it one pus per minute, that will surely stimulate reactions.¡± Tann left her room and turned to the entrance to the next room. Unlike the first room, the second room didn''t have a door, or rather, its entrance was merely a handle attached to the wall. However, Tann walked straight into the wall, the concrete-like texture of the wall moved aside similar when you push your way through curtains. The keyboard was there. Just a simple, plastic, green coloured keyboard lay in the centre of the empty room. Tann stepped towards the keyboard and picked it up with ease. ¡°Testing,¡± Tann pressed every digit on the keyboard. Suddenly the surrounding walls started to change colour as well as texture. It transformed from the original light yellow to dark blue, switching from the original smooth shiny surface to rough, spiky surface. ¡°Test complete,¡± Tann returned the room to its former appearance by a wave over the keyboard. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. It didn¡¯t take Tann very long to find the garage in the small house. There, she found the bicycle, nothing unusual about it, yet. ¡°Out of all the vehicles, they gave me a bike,¡± annoyedly, Tann took out her keyboard from a leather bag (she found it in the bathroom), ¡°what I can do is to change the gear ratio.¡± With a few presses, the size of the gears in the bike changed, the one connecting to the paddle increased more than three times, while the one connected to the wheel decreased to an unimaginable small size. ¡°Good,¡± Tann hopped onto the bike and put her foot on the paddles, but instead of zooming out like a rocket, she remained stationary, ¡°damn it, forgot about the driving force to accelerate.¡± ¡°Tann,¡± Phurder spoke over the radio suddenly, ¡°did you just change something?¡± ¡°Yea,¡± Tann replied, ¡°just some random gear ratio thing, there is no way I¡¯m going to bike to the place with brute force.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Phurder yawned, ¡°just remember to restrict it to your bike only.¡± With a single rotation of the paddles, Tann covered a distance of more than a hundred meters. However, she stopped soon after the one paddle: her face was covered in dust. ¡°Damn physics.¡± Qchong University: Qchong University had a history of over 300 unit years. It was one of the most respected research university in the simulation. The university adopted a system where all undergraduates and graduates can attend any course they like. By the end of the year, depends on the subject, the students will need to choose at least one course to submit their work over the year. They need to submit one specified research report and two personalised research reports (no word limit) and one exam in addition to the reports. The front gate of the university was not at all impressive to Tann. Only two brick pillars surrounded by a few flower pots and a small pool filled with bot_ducks (modelled by Cotanian). ¡°Whoever designed this university, I think Cine, needs some reflection,¡± Tann muttered and parked her bike in one of the bike parking zones, ¡°this is just pure laziness.¡± It was the open day for new undergraduates, so there was a large crowd at the university entrance. After squeezing through the crowd (a bunch of bots) Tann arrived at the Qchong Square. For the first time, she became slightly impressed by Cine¡¯s work: the square was vast, with organised lanes of statues, water fountains, a large modest, yet elegant clock tower sat high in the middle. It was the famous Night Tower, where former physicists (bots) conducted mechanics tests and astronomy investigations on it. At present, the roof was modified into a huge electronic telescope. ¡°Slightly better,¡± Tann drew a rectangle in midair with her finger, which resulted in a ¡®screenshot¡¯ of the Qchong Square, ¡°although the buildings in the background can be slightly shorter or further. They kinda ruined the scene.¡± Then she noticed a group of students with rainbow coloured armbands gathered around the base of the tower. One of them seemed to notice Tann and approached her. ¡°Good morning!¡± the person/bot gave Tann a warming smile, ¡°are you a new undergraduate?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tann showed her student card to the student. ¡°Welcome to Qchong University!¡± the student-produced a weird solute by putting her hands beside her head, forming two triangular ¡®cat ears,¡¯ ¡° I am a member of the student community, do you want me to show you around the school?¡± ¡°That must be Phurder¡¯s work!¡± Tann thought, ¡± I feel so bad for this bot as the creator, she is forced to do such a lame¡­¡± ¡°Aha,¡± the student noticed Tann¡¯s worries, ¡°that is the traditional salute for all student community members because apparently, the founder of the school likes cats¡­¡± ¡°Really¡­¡± Tann tried her best to produce a face of surprise, ¡°that is very¡­interesting¡­indeed¡­.¡± ¡°So, want me to show you around the campus and know about every lecture¡¯s locations?¡± the student switched back to the old subject. ¡°I already know,¡± Tann laughed nervously, she had a map of the school uploaded in her brain, ¡°but thanks for the offer, Rosy.¡± ¡°How did you know my name?¡± Tann suddenly realised that she was reading off the identity information of the student which displayed on top of the student¡¯s head, ¡°uh¡­¡± ¡°You sure have good eyes,¡± Rosy saved Tann by lifting her card hanging around neck and she took it out, ¡°here take it if you want, my name is Rosy Python, if you have any troubles, call the number below.¡± Tann took the card from Rosy¡¯s hands and looked at it briefly, ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± something reminded Rosy, ¡°remember to check out the societies fair at the Engineer¡¯s Square.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After the conversation with Rosy, Tann approached the main building, it was at this point when Tann realised that Cine basically duplicated the EMU in the simulation. Although there where were many differences such as instead of a full spherical shape, the main building consisted of a hemisphere roof made of glass, but to Tann, this difference was too minor. However, she felt a sense of comfort seeing this design of laziness. To a bot, the main building might be a bizarre achievement of architecture, but in Tann¡¯s eyes, all the massive cylindrical pillars marked the buttons ¡®copy¡¯ and ¡®paste¡¯. There was no creativity at all, it was just a rushed piece of work. Finally, she saw the Engineer¡¯s Square where rows of tents were set up by each of the student societies. Tann stopped by the first stand, the ¡®Diet Society¡¯. However, she hurried away quickly after seeing the line, ¡®STOP drinking those energy drinks! They contain too much caffeine and sugar!¡¯ There were quite a few sporting activities stands, but none of those interests Tann. Suddenly, she noticed a small crowd gathered around a stand so she went to check out. In the centre laid a long table covered in dark cloth. On it, was a delicately crafted robotic arm. The arm¡¯s appearance was simple, it seemed like a medieval knight¡¯s glove with reflective surfaces. ¡°Analyse,¡± Tann focused her gaze at the hand, and all the statistics of the hand appeared around it, she took a small breath after seeing the results, ¡°the civilisation and technology function is working too well¡­¡± ¡°Can you do a demonstration of this hand?¡± one of the students asked. ¡°Not now,¡± a sharp and annoying voice pierced through the crowd, ¡°the battery broke.¡± Tann moved closer and saw a short person standing next to the hand. Holding an electrical screwdriver in his left hand, the person was dressed in a long coat that completely sealed his body from the outside. From beneath the thick coat there came a strange buzzing noise. It took Tann a moment to realise that the person was in fact, wearing an air conditioner. She tried to hold her laughter, but the person seemed to notice her reaction, ¡°You there! What are you laughing at?¡± Tann recovered to her usual solemness, and she pointed at the robotic hand, ¡°you are saying that this is out of power?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± the person shook his head, ¡°we kinda used up everything yesterday¡­¡± Tann lifted the robotic hand and pressed its flat bottom. Suddenly, the hand clutched into a fist. ¡°Are you sure,¡± Tann said with a wicked smile, ¡°now, show me what it can do.¡± ¡°It''s not programmed yet¡­¡± like a popped balloon, the tone of authority in the person¡¯s voice was lost. ¡°Well, you have a laptop over there¡­¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t have the programming platform on there!¡± the little person cried. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Tann pretended to be thinking, ¡°can you not program.¡± The little person seemed to be about the faint, but he managed to control his last bit of sanity, ¡°I can¡¯t really show it now, but if you want to come and visit the Builder¡¯s Society this afternoon, I can show you how¡­¡± ¡°Ok,¡± Tann turned around and walked away. Programmer Tann found a bunch under the shade in the Engineer¡¯s Square. Dragging her keyboard from her bag, Tann placed it on her lap, ¡°Phurder? I might need to accelerate the time vector a bit.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± the volume of Phurder¡¯s voice increased as he moved closer to the microphone, ¡°can you say that again, I was taking a nap.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± Tann barked, ¡°how in the world did you get your place in the Scientific Community?¡± ¡°Strange right?¡± Phurder laughed ironically, ¡°I literally grind hard until they place me at a stable position, then I can relax.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Tann type a few letters on her keyboard, the letters were displaced virtually in her field of vision: Set_time_to_: ¡°I might need to do a time acceleration,¡± Tann said over the radio, ¡°are the conditions ready?¡± ¡°Your call.¡± Set_time_to_:_1630_1 Suddenly, all the bots around Tann paused in their positions, just like a super realistic freeze frame. The only moving object was Tann. She glanced around with a bit of nervousness. ¡°Phurder?¡± she asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°The ping is pretty high,¡± Phurder said casually, ¡°you might experience some lag¡­¡± Order_complete_1 In a split second, every single bot became blurry and zoomed around the Engineer Square. Gradually, they decelerated and they¡¯s texture became more defined. Everything was back to normal, the sound, the graphics, and the other senses. Tann let out a sigh of relief. She packed her keyboard back into her bag and stood up from the chair. The sun was setting, yet, its brightness coloured the sky into a beautiful mixture of orange, yellow, red and bit of purple. Theta Jenner, the graphics designer, did a brilliant job with the colours and weather texture. This is primarily due to her art degree. Tann stood up from the bench, she checked the time value, ¡¯16:30 pm¡¯. Relative to the time, many bots around her seemed to be ready to heading home. Tann looked around with the controlled display in her field of vision. Everything seemed to be perfect, as there were no signs of lag or unprocessed data. ¡°Good,¡± Tann headed towards an entrance among the tall building of the engineering department, ¡°we can just focus on reducing the ping.¡± With the help of her mini-map located in her ¡®mind¡¯ Tann easily walked the puzzling corridors of the engineering department. Unlike the gigantic external structure, the inside of the department was cramped with unopened cardboard boxes, retired machines, bundles of wires as well as an electric board that seemed to be hammered with brute force. The lighting was terrible, Tann had a feeling that this place might be better described as a cave rather than a department for sane people. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The door with a label made of melted plastic appeared on the fourth floor; it was the Builder¡¯s Society. Tann knocked lightly and, followed by fast-paced footsteps, the door was dragged behind. ¡°What happened to the door?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± the same shorty from the morning said nervously and put the door against the wall to allow Tann to enter, ¡°we had an accident recently. I still haven¡¯t got the time to fix it.¡± Tann sniffed, the air was filled with the smell of gasoline, ¡°you guys really need to be careful.¡± ¡°Of course we are!¡± the person walked towards his workbench with the robotic hand placed in the centre, ¡° we haven¡¯t had an accident, since¡­ ASIDE from the door, we are pretty fine.¡± While speaking, he knocked over a few metal bottles with his elbow. The bottles produced a series of sharp noises as they clashed against the floor and some white liquid leaked out. ¡°Sorry,¡± the person blushed and run out of the room, ¡°wait, let me get a mop.¡± As the footsteps of the person faded in a distance, Tann talked towards the robotic hand. She picked up the hand and examined its bottom. Then she realised the pile of scrap on the table, in it were pieces of metal plates similar to the ones used on the hand. She reached towards the pile and took out something. It was a metal finger, with scattered wires sticking out of it. ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± the guy came back with a bucket and a mop in his hands, he realised what Tann was holding, ¡°ah, those are the broken bits for the hand. That finger you are holding, the pressure and motion sensors inside it are broken.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tann spoke with curious, ¡° That aside, where are the programs?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Unwillingly, the person took out a laptop from beneath a pile of files, ¡°Can I be honest with you?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann put down the arm and looked at the person whose face was half-covered by his hair, ¡°get straight to the point.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± he began, ¡°Can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t what?¡± Tann pressed on. The person turned his face sideways, trying to escape Tann¡¯s sharp stare, ¡°Can¡¯t¡­swim.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± the person started the computer and clicked on a ¡®C¡¯ label, ¡°if you are interested in joining I have to know your abilities.¡± Tann said nothing and took the computer from the person. Her fingers raced across the keyboard systematically and the blank file started to fill with symbols. ¡°Done.¡± The person took the computer and looked at the program, he stared at it for a while and Tann knew perfectly what he is thinking. ¡°Looks nice to me,¡± the person finally said. ¡°What does this mean?¡± Tann asked she felt like poking an inflated balloon with a pin. ¡°You should know,¡± the person tried to change the subject, ¡°let us see what it does first.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Without another word, the little person plugged a white cable between the laptop and the hand. Moving slowly on the trackpad, he finally reached the ¡®upload¡¯ tab with the cursor. The LED on the base of the metal hand flashed for a few seconds then suddenly, the fingers stretched outwards. ¡°What next?¡± the person asked curiously. ¡°You should know,¡± without mercy, Tann moved her hand closer to the metal sculpture. Then she clutched her fist, the hand followed exactly. She raised her fingers one by one slowly, the metal fingers copied exactly. The person¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°What is your name?¡± he demanded eagerly, ¡°Are you interested in joining the team?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Tann asked back, ¡°I can¡¯t just consider a proposal made by someone unknown. The person quickly reached into his pocket and took out a student card, ¡° I am Loci Parametric, the head of Builder¡¯s Club, we¡¯ll be running four sessions every week, same time, the same place. We really need programmers like you!¡± ¡°I am quite busy,¡± Tann grinned, ¡°but I thought you know how to program and I am not interested in mechanical work, because I can¡¯t do them.¡± ¡°Ahhhhhh¡± Loci screamed and run out of the room. ¡°What happened to the personality function?¡± Tann wondered to herself, then she spoke over the radio again, ¡°Phurder, did you mess with the personality function again?¡± ¡°Not at all Dr Angle,¡± Phurder laughed, ¡°I mean not messing with it, I¡¯m just trying to make the bot personalities more realistic.¡± Installing ¡°Knock knock,¡± a dark-haired girl entered the Builder¡¯s Club via door-less entrance, ¡°hello? Is anyone in?¡± It was Rosy. Rosy was surprised to find the Chair of the club cramped motionlessly in a chair in front of his workbench. She tried to get his attention by slapping his top hat lightly, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong, the mechanical engineer who cannot program? When are you gonna fix that door that you blew apart with your accelerator?¡± Loci raised his hand and the robotic hand on the table responded by copying his movements. Rosy raised an eyebrow, ¡°Huh?¡± Loci moved his fingers around fiercely but the metal hand was able to perfectly emulate his fingers¡¯ positions. ¡°Wait,¡± Rosy grabbed a chair and sat down beside Loci, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you learnt to programme in a night¡­¡± It didn¡¯t take long before Rosy figured out what happened, ¡°Oh wait, is it a new kid? Where is her program?¡± Loci didn¡¯t answer, instead, he pointed at his laptop at the far end of the workbench. Rosy slid her chair towards the laptop and studied the screen. ¡°Hang on¡­¡± something interesting caused Rosy to pull the screen closer to her face, ¡°Who put that symbol there? Is that even an official symbol?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me!¡± Loci suddenly exploded, ¡°I am not a programmer! You should understand it! She just typed a few spells on that¡­machine¡­and somehow it worked!¡± ¡°What is her name?¡± Rosy pressed on. Loci opened his mouth as if he knew what to say, but after a second he let out a sigh, ¡°Sorry, she didn¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°Is she coming back?¡± Rosy selected all the programs and pressed ¡®copy¡¯, then quickly, with Loci¡¯s mailing account, she sent all the program to herself¡¯s address, ¡°What does she look like?¡± Loci continued to play with his robotic hand and seemed to lose attention to Rosy¡¯s question, ¡°I don¡¯t remember, she had golden hair, and she is like a tree¡­¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Everyone is a tree compared to you, ¡° Rosy snapped and closed Loci¡¯s laptop, ¡°I hope she¡¯ll come back.¡± She grabbed the robotic hand and tried it. Her eyes were sparkling with the joy of excitement, ¡°I really want to meet her. By the way, when is the official open day?¡± Loci looked down at his workbench, where a tiny calendar was attached to the table with superglue, ¡°This week is all about meeting with new members, I¡¯ll say next Thursday should be the date.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Rosy hopped off her chair and began to exit the room. ¡°Oh wait!¡± Loci shouted, ¡°The tip of her hair is blue!¡± ¡°Blue¡­¡± Rosy muttered to herself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª System: Uploading_program¡­0% System: Uploading_program..50% System: Uploading_complete¡­ System: Loading_extension_file¡­###$$%!)))@# System: Installing_file-name: C-A-S-T System: U&pd@tiN& File System: F1ni$$H!n& System:#%&!*9___&@#^___CAST System:CAST___CAST___C-A-S-T____C--A--S--T CAST: !*#&%8 CAST: Re$torin& CAST: Restoration_complete CAST: Creating_Big_DATA_set CAST: Gathering_world_information CAST: Creating_TASK__HETZER__TYPE__A (visualisation of a structural model of Type A) CAST: Selecting object in 100000ms CAST: TARGET_@quired_ip_64.94.100.200:28960 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Are you ready to begin the first test?¡± Phurder asked over the radio. ¡°Anytime,¡± Tann looked up to the night sky. The moon was bright as ever, or rather, the intensity function is a little bit high. It reminded her of the times when they needed to spend weeks creating new planets in the ¡®Solar System¡¯, making them unique yet realistic. The Sun, the most annoying one, took them the longest. The gravity constant of the Sun had been changed multiple times enable for ¡®Earth¡¯ to be in the ¡®right zone¡¯. Tann remembered the time when the community actually asked for a ¡®Solar System¡¯ consisting of only ¡®Earth¡¯ to save budget. That will never work. If ¡®Earth¡¯ is the only one in the ¡®Solar System¡¯, it will take much longer for the bots to overcome the restriction of the ¡®Religious Functions¡¯. It took Tann a long time to persuade the higher-ups of this potential danger. Indeed, Artificial Psychology is not something that can be easily appreciated. Artificial Psychology: A new branch of Psychology that is specific to the application in simulations. It is a study to express all the potential mental states via programmatic functions. Project Earth is possibly the first major use of Artificial Psychology where billions of bots are distributed with unique personalities that are generated from a random set of psychological constants. Tann was standing atop of her ¡®log in¡¯ house. The sky was crystal clear (she removed the cloud cover for better visual), all the ¡®stars¡¯ (light-emitting bright spots) puzzled across the night sky. Suddenly she noticed a weird pattern among the stars. It was a certain reproductive organ. ¡°Whoever did that¡­¡± she did not finish her sentence. ¡°Tann?¡± Cotanian¡¯s voice appeared, ¡° All is ready Dr Angle, you may enter the change.¡± Tann looked down at the keyboard in her hands. Then, without hesitation, she started to blast out functions with her insane type speed. After sprinting across the keyboard for a solid five minutes, she laid back on the roof. She waited patiently for the change to happen. In a matter of seconds, the stars started to drift towards an invisible horizontal axis across the sky, forming a fine bright line. ¡°Let¡¯s see their reactions tomorrow,¡± Cotanian laughed, ¡°nicely done, Dr Angle.¡± Tann smiled slightly, and she closed her eyes as the smooth wind blew across her face. Change ¡°Welcome to Friday Morning Headlines,¡± the news reporter announced calmly, ¡°the astrologists and Physicists woke up this morning to discover that the space we used to understand had changed.¡± ¡°Here is the Head of Physics Department at Qchong university, Dr Henry Pascal, tell us more about the incident,¡± the camera turned to an elder man dressed in what seemed to be pyjamas. ¡°It is impossible!¡± Dr Pascal screamed at the top of his lungs, then, he hurried his face in his hands and sobbed, ¡°Forgive me the fathers of science, but what is observed is the evidence. No¡­It doesn¡¯t make sense! Space had no centre!¡± The reporter looked awkwardly at the Physicist waiting for him to stop crying. After a whole minute Dr Pascal managed to pick himself up, ¡°Okay, if you looked at the night sky yesterday at 9:30 pm, you may notice the rapid movements of stars. This is because an unknown change had caused all the galaxies observed to switch to the same plane as the Earth¡¯s equator.¡± ¡°What do that mean Dr?¡± ¡°It means,¡± Dr Pascal paused to take a long breath, ¡°ladies and gentlemen, I am here to say that, based on our calculations on the relative motion between interstellar objects and Earth, we have proven that the universe gained a centre, which is, our planet. I may be wrong, and I wish I am wrong, but the whole universe follows a rotating pattern with Earth as the centre of orbit¡­¡± Behind a desk full of energy drinks, Tann sat cosily in a fury sofa. She popped open a can of ¡®Monster Energy¡¯ with her left hand and at the same time, took notes on a virtual keyboard with her right hand. For the past hour, she was watching the ¡®bot tv¡¯ or the news in the world of the program. Although it may be boring to hear the story across many different programs from different broadcast stations, it was very entertaining for Tann to look at how the bots panic over a few changes caused by her in a matter of minutes. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Across the Earth, science organisations were lost in debates and re-calculations. The government cancelling any further space programs. However, the most interesting response came from the religious community. No matter of their religion, the same message was presented, ¡®It is all according to God¡¯s plan¡¯. ¡°Phurder,¡± Tann just switched to another religious program that caused her to spit her mouthful of drink, ¡°did you mess with the ¡®belief¡¯ function? These bots are literally starting to sacrifice animals for their god.¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± said Phurder, ¡°I think that¡¯s a question for Bino.¡± ¡°I am pretty sure Bino only manages the hardware¡­¡± Tann took a sip from an energy drink with a bright green label shaped into a scratch mark, ¡°Aha, Cotanian! Are you there?¡± ¡°Yes, Dr Angle,¡± Cotanian spoke up timidly over the radio, ¡°did I do something wrong.¡± ¡°Not necessarily wrong,¡± Tann switched to another program, ¡°it¡¯s just I think your psychology functions are a bit too extreme¡­¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Bino Distry¡¯s voice appeared suddenly, ¡°think about it Tann, imagine you living in a world and you kind had spent thousands of years trying to understand the world, but suddenly, all of these understandings were proven wrong by an unimaginable change.¡± ¡°Yea,¡± Phurder could be heard munching on his snacks again, ¡°it¡¯s gonna be hella weird to realise that the whole universe orbits around you trashy planet.¡± ¡°Guys stop!¡± Cotanian cried, ¡°Dr Angle is right, I think the bots are behaving way too extreme. Dr Angle, I¡¯ll try to change it after you come back.¡± There was a short pause, but Tann managed to break the silence, ¡°Don¡¯t be hard on yourself, Cotanian, your psychology function is close to perfect¡­¡± ¡°Her psychology function,¡± Phurder let out a high pitched laugh, ¡°Tann, you don¡¯t need to be humble, you literally did 90 % of the work¡­¡± ¡°Shut it Phurder,¡± Tann said coldly, ¡°no matter how much Cotanian had done, it is still better than someone who messes around and could possibly ruin the whole simulation.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Tann muted the radio and refocused on the television. Apparently, all the astronauts from the ISS were evacuated back to Earth since the gravity equation was no longer applicable. However, despite many bot-experts predicting a world-wide signal break down, the low orbit satellites were still functioning as to how they should be. Tann looked out the window, the sun was still high above in the sky, but the former giant of the Solar System was orbiting around the tiny planet named Earth. Drafts 1 The first sketch of Tann, this image is meant to be her simulation appearance. These sketches are Tann''s actual appearances. Based on the story, due to her terrible living habits, she is literally a walking skeleton with thick eye bags. Also, take note of her clothing, which is basically a labcoat A later version of Tann''s virtual appearance. Notice how her eye bags are reduced and her face is slightly rounder as well as long hair. Tann is those kinds of people who use photoshopped images as their profile pictures. Her clothing changes to a more casual and teen-ager style with hoodie and jeans. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Beginning Loci Parametric scrambled with all sorts of tools, he held an electric screwdriver with his right hand while holding a self-adjusting wrench in his other hand. ¡°Damn it...¡± he cursed as the detachable tip of his screwdriver got stuck in a screw and came out of the screwdriver, ¡° I NEED MORE ARMS!¡± ¡°Make them yourself,¡± Rosy said across the room, ¡°but you are gonna need someone else to program it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Loci looked away from his metalwork. Rosy threw her magazine like a frisbee which landed perfectly in front of Loci, ¡°Unlike you, the metal hearted golem, the rest of us have greater problems to deal with.¡± Loci picked up the magazine and read its cover, ¡®Science and Astronomy Destroyed In One Night¡¯, ¡°Some kind of commercial?¡± ¡°READ,¡± Rosy ordered. ¡°Okok,¡± Loci backed off from his workbench and sat onto a chair made from plastic pipes. Seeing that Loci started to actually read the correct content, Rosy turned aside and took out her pink laptop from her bag. She entered her twenty digit password quickly and reopened the tab which she was working on. ¡°Why are you looking at my programs?¡± Tann¡¯s voice made Rosy jump and slammed her laptop shut as if she was looking at something inappropriate. ¡°Hi...you are¡­¡± Rosy glanced at the person, ¡°wait, didn¡¯t we met before?¡± ¡°Your name is Rosy right?¡± Tann smiled, ¡°I¡¯m the new student¡­¡± ¡°Now I remember,¡± Rosy laughed, ¡°how¡¯s school going for you so far?¡± Tann sat down beside Rosy, ¡°I like this place a lot.¡± ¡°Did Loci force you in?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Not really,¡± Tann turned towards Loci, ¡°just feel bad for someone who¡­¡± ¡°HAHAHAHA¡± Loci laughed hysterically and put down the papers, ¡°is it an April Fool¡¯s joke or something?¡± The two girls watched him awkwardly. ¡°Rosy,¡± Loci began, ¡°do you really think that, if I snap my fingers, the whole fricking universe is gonna spin around our little planet.¡± Rosy did not reply, instead, she turned to Tann and smiled sadly, ¡°You need a big heart to handle this guy.¡± ¡°Okay, Loci,¡± after seeing Rosy¡¯s smile, Tann said, ¡°if you take a look at the night sky¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn,¡± Loci quickly changed the subject, ¡° what, even if we spin around the moon, it makes no difference to me. It¡¯s not like if the universe starts spinning¡¯s gonna make my robots go crazy.¡± ¡°Very interesting thinking,¡± Tann recorded Loci¡¯s reaction virtually then said to herself quietly, ¡°I should really look deeper into the personality functions.¡± ------------------- He was homeless, without a family nor anyone who knows him more than his name. The tramp rolled uncomfortably in his cardboard bed. Lucky for him, his home, an abandoned factory provided shelter for him against the blazing sun or the killing storms. However, he knew it, one day, this home will be gone, the developer¡¯s team can turn grassland into a shopping centre within a week. So, he wanted to enjoy this temporary sense of home. The tramp closed his eyes, trying to shorten the time before night, but his hand that was resting on the floor felt a sense of moisture. Water. He stared up, and he saw it. ¡°Subject acquired,¡± it said, ¡°prepare Hetzer formula, one.¡± The tramp sat up pushing the cardboard out of his way. Then, he realised, a rim of water had surrounded him, it formed the strange patterns and constantly changed its path in a regular way. ¡°No...no¡­¡± ¡°Stay calm,¡± it said, ¡°I am here to make you strong.¡± ¡°What are you!?¡± ¡°You may address me as CAST.¡± Update_Compete:ip:312*#7&_>>>H1 CAST walked, actually, it was standing in a pool of water that replaced the concrete floor, towards the tramp as it moved, the pool followed him. The tramp stretched out his hand and reached towards CAST. ¡°I am terribly sorry, but you may not touch me,¡± CAST spoke calmly, the tramp¡¯s arm stopped in mid-air, ¡°I am not willing to get my fur dirty, yet.¡± Slowly, the tramp withdrew his arm. ¡°I have something good for you,¡± CAST claimed, the furry white sheep began to shake itself. As it shook, tingling noise could be heard and its form became blurry. Clink! Something dropped from CAST¡¯s thick fur, ¡°Sorry for the wait.¡± The tramp¡¯s eyes widened, he had not seen anything that looks tasty in a long while. ¡°Take it,¡± the sheep barked happily, ¡°it¡¯s all yours, I rather have some grass or cabbage¡± Like a hungry wolf, the tramp charged at his food and grabbed it tightly with his claws. He stretched open his mouth and took an enormous bite. He chewed noisily, like a rapidly rotating saw blade cutting through wires. Then, he wanted to take an even larger bite, he stared towards the ceiling as his jaws cracked, the side of his cheeks ripped apart by his desires. CAST turned around, ¡°After you finish, I¡¯d like you to do me a little favour.¡± The white sheep slowly walked away from the feeding beast. As CAST took its exit the water on the ground followed by flowing inversely, soon, the concrete floor was dry again. The tramp finally finished his food, he wiped his mouth, but no saliva or scraps remained on his lips. His cheeks¡­ They had returned to normal. He was still hungry. Food! He scanned the room and he saw food again. Like a tiger, the former tramp dashed towards the pile of rusted pipes. Display ¡°So you want to participate in Engineering Society?¡± Loci Parametric reached beneath his workbench and took out a form, ¡°If that is the case, would you mind filling out this sign up form?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to think about it first,¡± Tann peeked at Rosy, as demonstrated from Tann¡¯s field of view, Rosy¡¯s ¡®passionate factor¡¯ was really high, ¡°I think it is very likely. However, I still don¡¯t know what do you guys do exactly.¡± Loci were about to speak up, but Rosy blinked at him, as a resulted, Loci gestured Tann towards Rosy. ¡°This club is mainly for¡­¡± Rosy started, she attempted to summarise nervously, ¡°for Engineering undergraduates to complete their course work. Like, you know the ¡®Further Project Qualification¡¯, they need to come up with their designs for a specific task¡­¡± ¡°Who cares about the FPQ?¡± Loci shouted, from nowhere, he dragged a huge protective suitcase onto his workbench, ¡°this is the real deal.¡± ¡°Wait Loci!¡± Before Rosy could stop him, Loci unlocked the fingerprint lock on top of the case, with a few mechanical clicks and the sound of a motor, the box unlocked. Tann raised an eyebrow, it was something she wasn¡¯t expecting. Pretending to be strong, Loci lifted the full steel object from the case. He took a deep breath after pulling out a pin that allowed the four lags of the object to shot out quickly and extended all the way to the ground. The centre part of the object gave out a low pitched buzz followed by the cracks made by the gears. ¡°This is the T13¡± Loci smiled brightly while patting the long barrels of the turret, ¡°simple as it sounds, one 500 watts D.C motor, one coolant chamber, one shell dispenser, eight 5.56 mm barrels with barrel lines made by myself.¡± Knowing that the tea had already spelt, Rosy explained, ¡°You won¡¯t be doing it yet, only the Year 4s or anyone who has finished their Masters can work in the Automated Turret Project.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just curious,¡± Tann walked towards the turret, as she walked, the top of the turret rotated to aim at her head, ¡°what is this project really about?¡± Loci pressed the back of the turret lightly and the turret responded by stop tracking Tann, ¡°I mean¡­it is just about building armed turrets for military use. It is established by the North K?lo? company, like a way to find potential future employees.¡± He switched off the turret by removing another key from the gun breech. Tann walked closer to the machine and laid her hands on the cold steel surface, then she moved her hand to the long ammo belt that was channelled from the gun breach to a nylon bag. ¡°Are these real?¡± Tann turned to Loci while feeling the sharp tips of the bullets. ¡°Of course they are!¡± Loci brought up a box of used ammo cartages, all labelled: Copper Tip Training Ammo. Then without Tann asking, Loci pulled out a card from behind off the air conditioner on his chest, ¡°I bought them from Alucard¡¯s Firearms, but you need a special license for the project to enable to obtain an automatic weapon, especially large calibre weapons. However, if you want to go there and buy a shot¡­¡± ¡°Here we go again,¡± Rosy shook her head and sighed, ¡°I know you are a friend of the boss there, but stop advertising to new students about buying shotguns.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I¡¯m not asking her to¡­I mean I am just telling her that if she goes there and buys a shotgun with my account name, she can get a 20% off discount,¡± Loci argued back and slid the card back behind his chest-air-conditioner. ¡°Does the discount also apply to other guns?¡± Tann asked suddenly while inspecting the turret. ¡°I think almost all guns?¡± Loci replied, ¡°I¡¯ll need to check with Small, but, what kind of guns do you want?¡± ¡°Just asking,¡± Tann brushed off the topic quickly, she petted the turret lightly and stepped aside, ¡°that¡¯s a cool project, to be honest, but I need to go shopping for a bit.¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The shop keeper put down his graphic novel slowly as the blond girl dumped a few boxes of Red Bull and Monster onto the counter. ¡°Having a sports gala kid?¡± he asked the girl who was still searching in the freezer. ¡°Nope,¡± Tann replied with looking, she took out a plastic bag and filled it with a few lemon flavoured Gatorade, ¡°personal uses.¡± The shop keeper chuckled lightly by Tann¡¯s comments, ¡°Hell ya! Just make sure you don¡¯t drink too much or you¡¯ll get a heart attack!¡± However, his volumed lowered dramatically as he received the cold stare from Tann, ¡°or maybe you want some coffee.¡± Tann turned away, ¡°No, I hate bitter stuff, but I just need caffeine.¡± Then, she put her bag of Gatorade on the boxes, ¡°hope these can last night?¡± ¡°Watching the stars?¡± the shop keeper laughed, ¡°That¡¯s sure the work of Jesus.¡± ¡°Jesus?¡± ¡°Of course it is Jesus!¡± the shop keeper laughed even harder, ¡°was reading this magazine this morning, and this dude forgot his name, Julian something, one of the nerds in Qchong claimed that this is similar to what happened at the birth of Jesus.¡± He scanned the bar codes on the drinks and brought up some duck tape to secure the boxes even more. ¡°That¡¯s 696 dollars and 96,¡± he howled, ¡°back to my point, if all the scientists, those Drs, if they don¡¯t have a clue, then who should we believe? People need something to believe, if science sucks, then all we have is a god.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Tann him her pink credit card, she took out a foldable trolly and put the boxes into a nice stack onto the trolly, ¡°I¡¯ll come back for more later.¡± She exited through the glass doors and headed towards her login zone. ¡°I see, buying more drinks?¡± Phurder Puler¡¯s annoying sound appeared across the radio again, ¡°NICE, how did you manage to get that number?! Well, that¡¯s probably why they selected you as the leader.¡± ¡°Shut up Phurder,¡± Tann snapped, she stopped her heels and took out a bottle of Gatorade. She twisted open the cap in a quick fashion and took a massive gulp down her throat, ¡°Aaah!¡± ¡°Let me guess,¡± Phurder joked, ¡°Is it G-Fuel?¡± ¡°No,¡± Tann replied, ¡°I¡¯ll need to order some online. That aside, what is the chaos factor?¡± Phurder swiped his monitor and dragged out a few graphs, he stared at them for a bit and press the record button, ¡°Some gradual increase at the moment, but the trend is pretty obvious, we¡¯ll probably a major shift after Test no.2.¡± ¡°Should I do that today or tomorrow?¡± Tann asked while taking another drink, ¡°Is Cotanian doing her role right?¡± ¡°Dr Cotanian?¡± Phurder giggled, ¡°She went to fix the pipes with Bino, she almost beat Casio up this morning because he forgot to tidy up the tools. Yeah, I think you should do it tomorrow, so we can see a greater difference between the two Tests.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann replied, ¡°can I come back for tonight, I miss my caffeine injector.¡± Phurder played with his injector, ¡°You caffeine addict, imagine the government banning caffeine injection, you¡¯ll end up in the jail within an hour¡­Hang on! What the¡­¡± Phurder voice was becoming increasing blurred causing Tann to stop once again. ¡°What''s wrong Phurder?¡± She questions calmly, ¡°I already had one of your pranks, not this time.¡± ¡°No¡­I¡­Minimap¡­¡± The radio was off. Tann let out a sigh, ¡°This guy sure can¡¯t do things properly without a prank or two.¡± However, she checked her mini for the last time, and, she noticed something strange, right in front of her, inside the login site, was a red spot. Red Spot: Whenever there is a section of the program that is malfunctioning due to lag or other factors, it will be indicated as a red dot on the minimap. Tann let go of her trolly of drinks and walked towards the login house alone. Suddenly she felt something was off, and her relaxes forced her to jump aside. Yet, it was too late: Tann felt a sudden shock in her right leg followed by intense pain as she landed on the ground. She groaned and looked at her leg. A long metallic spike had pierced right through her mussels and stuck there with its tip and end exposing from either side of her leg. Dreamily, Tann reached for the spike and as her hand made contact with it, she let out a scream. Pain. The red coloured liquid was pouring out of her wound. Damage: 10% This is the first time Tann saw the damage value on her virtual display. Then she saw it. Dawn of A New Day Tann grabbed onto the spike and pulled it out with her full force. She cried painfully as more blood poured out from her wound. The thing let out a low pitch groan and charged towards her. ¡°Wait, I am the creator!¡± Tann shouted and stretched out her blood-stained hand against the thing, ¡°Stop right now!¡± It worked, the thing stopped into a freeze-frame, but, its body was vibrating rapidly as it attempts to get rid of the ¡®freeze¡¯ program. Tann gazed at her attacker, and what she saw shocked her. It was a bot. However, unlike the other bots, long, metal spikes penetrated through bubble-like tissues all over its body. Along with the spikes, there were artificial products like broken pipes, metal bars, wires and even phone screens sticking all over its body. It did not have a face, in fact, the original human¡¯s face was ripped right across the jaws, and a huge ball of sponge-like tissue and wires took over were used to be the head of the human. Tann gasped in horror, but she quickly reached for her keyboard in her bag. However, just as she was about to reach it, the monster let out a roar, and it broke its frozen state. Using its arm, the monster slashed at Tann, in midair, the spikes on its claw grew longer and became blade-like structures. Tann rowed over quickly, causing the slash to miss her by an inch. The blades cut into the ground deeply causing dust and sparks to form all over the place. With this tiny time gap, Tann took out her keyboard and typed ¡®Power_boost_x_¡¯ but before she could type in the time¡¯s number, the monster used its other arm to stab at her head. Without any options, Tann clutched her fist and punched at the approaching attack. Although her power and hardness significantly higher than the average bots, her bare hand was no match to the monster¡¯s blade. With a series of cracking sounds, the blade cut through her finger, into her palm and into her arm. Damage Taken: 30% ¡°AAAAA!¡± Tann screamed as the monster pushed in a bit hard into her arm and the tip of the spike made contact with her sensory neurone. Tears and blood splatter across her face, serges of pain conquered her brain. However, with one of her arm sacrificed to block the attack, Tann used her other hand to type in the final number, ¡®9¡¯. The monster pulled out its blade from the ground and swung it high into the air, ready for the next attack. Yet, there was a huge impact across its waist, before it could launch its attack. Suddenly it lost balance and fell backwards into the ground. As it fell, it could see the rest of its body still remained standing. In a split second, a black, oily liquid blasted out of the cross-sections of the monster, forming two fountains. After a few seconds, the rate of flow decreased as less liquid flow out. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Cells Regenerating: 10% Having used her final bit of strength, Tann lost consciousness. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°What¡­what happened?¡± Tann rubbed her eyes and felt the oily grease on her face. Her wounds had long healed, but her jeans and jacket were stained with blood and grease. She sat up, trying to remember what happened before. However, instead of seeing the body of her defeated opponent, she was surrounded by a pool of metal scraps. ¡°Huh?¡± she stood up slowly and picked up her keyboard. ¡°Phurder?¡± ¡°Phurder?¡± ¡°ANYONE?¡± The radio was dead. Tann walked towards her log in house, she looked from side to side, trying to work out if the place is no longer hostile. Creeping into the room, she noticed that everything had remained the same as before. Finally, Tann reached the login portal, the mirror. She sat up straight in front of it, waiting to see her reflection change. BAM! The mirror exploded, sending shrapnel all over her body. Damage: 30% ¡°GOD DAMN IT!¡± Tann screamed, and typed in a new command ¡®Cell_Regeneration_Max¡¯. Cell regeneration: 90% As her cells divided rapidly, the newly formed tissue pushed the shrapnels out of her body but she could still feel the pain that remained for a long while. That was not her problem at that moment. Tann stared at where the mirror used to be, her face remained blank as if she was expecting it to magically, no programmatically merge together again. It didn¡¯t. Horror. It is the only emotion that Creator of this world could feel, before, she was like a god, now, she felt like a prey who is already in the trap. ¡°Minimap?¡± It was gone, in other words, her virtual display all the statistics were entirely gone. She punched the wall with all her might, it shattered like thin glass. Damage: 1% Cell Regeneration: 100% ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± She screamed at the top of her lungs, her sound echoed in the room. One by one, large teardrops rowed down her cheeks and landed on her blood-covered hand. What could she do? She had no family. Friends? She considered most of the people she knew as mere colleagues. However, they are the people with means to her, and they are the only ones she could think of. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The door of the login house swung open slowly. It was already night, the straight line of stars (caused by Tann) occupied the sky, shinning the rural land with dim, blue light. Dressed in a new pair of jeans, an undersized T-shirt with red and black wiggles that exposed her belly and a black leather jacket, Tann stepped back into the world she created. She carried a large rucksack, filled with replacement clothing. Her keyboard was tied with a rope to her waist so she could access it any time. ¡°Time to find a new safehouse,¡±, she walked towards the boxes of energy drinks that she bought before, and filled her bag with a bunch of Monsters. Finally, she popped open one can and drunk it in one go, ¡°Need to find a weapon first¡± She jumped onto her bike and headed back towards the city. Armoured Function:_Body_Harden_100_1 ***Function_Undefined*** ¡°Frick!¡± Tann let out a deep sigh of frustration, ¡°Great, now I can¡¯t do anything for my body.¡± She put down her keyboard and drunk from an energy drink. Then, she picked up a ting iron rod, ¡°let me try with this.¡± She typed in a few commands on her keyboard. After a second, the iron rod started to bend down naturally like melting butter, and soon, it became complete liquefied and flowed through Tann¡¯s fingers. Tann took out a piece of wrapping paper and a plastic pen and noted, ¡°Well, at least I can still some minor properties.¡± Tann was sitting on a bench outside the exit of a subway station with a sign that read ¡®Castle Peak¡¯. Thanks to the helpful subway staff, she was able to obtain a general city map with all the street names. She laid it flat on her lap and studied it carefully, ¡° Okay, I am at the Southside near the city centre. Ah, here is Castle Peak station! Where is the exit B...here it is!¡± Then she took out a card from her pocket. Like an ID card, it had her photo and ¡®information¡¯ on it, but it had a black label that read, ¡®North K?lo?¡¯ and a small line of bold words, ¡®The cardholder is a participant of the North K?lo? Automated Turret Project, he/she is thus allowed to obtain automatic firearms as well as any firearms that have a barrel size below 37 mm.¡¯ ¡°Good thing I made a copy of that guy¡¯s card,¡± Tann smiled and put it back into her pocket, ¡°he sure can¡¯t keep any secrets.¡± She stood up from the bench and looked at the rushing bots around her. Any of them could be hostile, and any of them could become that monster. Making sure that all her stuff was with her, Tann walked into the subway station. Compared to her ¡®home¡¯, the subway system in the simulation wasn¡¯t much different (aside from the fact that the trains simulation required tracks to run on and are powered by electric motors instead of hydrogen fusion motors). Tann quickly got herself an Octopus card, which she can program it to have infinite value. It was peak hour when Tann board the train, the station and the trains were flooded with bots. Tann stood closely beside the emergency exit, her hand gripped firmly to the emergency handle, ready to press it down if a monster appears. The train zoomed on a tall flyover in the middle of the buildings under the night sky, the colourful lights formed a gigantic moving picture outside the window, but Tann was in the mood to enjoy the scenery. Her eyes swung from right to left, left to right, trying to detect any oddity among the bots. Finally, lengthy train ride came to an end when the off toned speaker announced, ¡°Next station: Reddito¡±. After squeezing past layers of bots, Tann let out a sigh of relief and drank another can of Monster Energy. Then, she unfolded her map. Beside Reddito station was a large red circle that was made by Tann. ¡°Right opposite to the Sinclair Police Station,¡± Tann looked up a noticed the dull police station that seemed to be a cave carved within a concrete block. Across the street, Tann saw a large store with a wide wooden board that was covered in bullet holes. On top of it, with thick red paint, it read ¡®Alucard¡¯s Firearms¡¯. ¡°Here we are,¡± Tann murmured excitedly. She walked across the street and stood in front of the display windows. There were all sorts of guns on display, there was a shelf full of pistols, bundles of old fashioned bolt action hunting rifles, of course, semi-automatic (civilian version) assault rifles standing along with the window. Aside from the weapons, there were also scopes with different diameters and powers; special tracer ammo and shotgun cartages; and finally, cleaning tools. Tann looked from top to bottom, ¡°My technology function sure is effective, no wonder they invented all these weapons within a few program years.¡± Pushing open the door made of bulletproof glass, she entered the store. As expected, the inside of the store was immense. More and more guns entered Tann¡¯s field of view, they went from plastic sub machine-guns to heavy light machine guns. Although the room was packed, all of the items were organised neatly, allowing the customer to identify each weapon type quickly. ¡°How may I help you Ms?¡± A middle-aged man sat at the counter located at the centre of the room. In one of his hand, he held an ammo belt that hasn¡¯t been filled with bullets yet. ¡°I need something for self-defence,¡± Tann said quickly. The man rubbed his thick and spiky beard in amusement, ¡°I¡¯ve got ya covered, want a gallon of pepper spray.¡± He brought up a huge gas can from beneath his desk. ¡°What can this do?¡± Tann asked. ¡°Spray in the eyes, and the guy would never try to lay them on you again,¡± the shopkeeper laughed, he then took out a cigar-like plastic object and put it into his mouth, ¡°I am surprised I am enjoying kids smokes nowadays.¡± Tann walked closer to him, ¡°Probably not the spray, I have more dangerous wolfs to worry about?¡± The shopkeeper blew out a smoke bubble that gave off a fruit smell, ¡°You want a gun don¡¯t ya?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Yes,¡± Tann replied firmly. ¡°All right,¡± the shopkeeper reached behind him and took out a small paper box from the shelf, ¡°here, a Glock 17, should be enough for anyone who ain¡¯t afraid of pepper spray.¡± He carefully opened the box and put the foam wrappings into a neat pile on his desk. A small pistol appeared from the black artificial sponge. It was entirely brown, but with its top slider in an even darker shade of brown. The shopkeeper picked out the pistol carefully, in this process, Tann could hear small clicking sounds from within the pistol. ¡°I know it is a¡­colour,¡± claimed the shopkeeper, he held the gun in his large hand, and spun it with his middle finger, ¡°but lightweight and durable, here, give it a try.¡± He rotated the pistol so its handle was facing Tann. Tann stared at it for a second, then she took the handle, then, she swung it lightly around, feeling its weight, after that, she pulled the slider and looked at the inside of the chamber. The shopkeeper grinned proudly, ¡°I see, you must be a woman of culture too. Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t sale scraps here, every gun here are well oiled and numbered, so if you have a problem with it, you can always come to fix it¡­¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Tann put the gun back into its case, ¡°I¡¯m not here for a toy.¡± ¡°Toy?!¡± the shopkeeper laughed, ¡°Then what is not a toy? I¡¯m telling ya, the Glock 17 can do some serious damage if you use it properly¡­¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Tann replied coldly and walked away from the counter, with her eyes scanning across the other showcases, ¡°can I try that one?¡± The shopkeeper packed the Glock box and returned it to its original spot on the shelf. He exited the counter and followed to where Tann was pointing. His eyes widened a bit at what he saw, but a second later, the shock turned to amusement, ¡°You want that old school antique? It can only hold 6 shots¡­¡± ¡°6 large shots with high penetration,¡± Tann argued firmly. ¡°Mate,¡± the shopkeeper laid out his hands, ¡°I can get you whatever you want, but I must warn you that not all guns can be handled¡­the same way¡­especially the .500 magnum. Do you know how much knock-back that thing have?¡± ¡°I perfectly understand you,¡± Tann pointed at the gun again, ¡°but I hope you can help me open the case.¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± the keeper unlocked the case and took the gun off its stand, ¡°we had it here for quite a while as not many folks want this big iron around. Oh! I forgot this hand cannon fires special .50 cal ammo that comes in either tracer/incinerates/armour-piercing.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann took the gun from the keeper¡¯s hand, suddenly, she could feel the weight of that thing. She almost dropped it instantly, but she took a deep breath and held the pistol in one hand and aimed it at the corner of the room. It was in a rusty brass colour, however, its smooth long barrel could reflect lots of light, ¡°can you get me 100 armour-piercing shots, please?¡±. The shop keeper stared at her wordlessly for a second, but he quickly bent down under the showcase and pulled out a long tray of brown paper boxes, ¡°just telling, you are¡­meant to hold that thing with two hands.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°What else do you need?¡± the shopkeeper finished scanning all the bar codes on the quickdraw magazine boxes. ¡°I want an automatic AR.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°An automatic assault rifle.¡± Before the shopkeeper could ask another word, Tann pulled out her card and blocked it in front of his eyes, ¡°Ehhh¡­¡± ¡°Seen it before?¡± Tann smiled wickedly. ¡°Hold on a second,¡± the keeper turned around and typed a few letters onto a cube-like desktop computer, after a long pause as the ancient computer finished processing all the data, ¡°there you are, Ivy Whitman¡­You are a Qchong student?! Do you know Loci Parametric?¡± ¡°Yea.¡± ¡°Do you guys work on the same project?¡± the keeper asked curiously. ¡°Not really,¡± said Tann. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate,¡± the keeper sighed sadly, ¡°though he¡¯ll get a human girlfriend someday.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tann¡¯s curiosity overcame her annoyance, ¡°Human?¡± ¡°Have you ever met him before,¡± said the keeper, he sat down on his rotatable chair, ¡°that guy has a weird passion in machines, and he is always claiming that he will build his girlfriend¡­¡± ¡°Build?¡± Tann withdrew her card into her pocket. ¡°No one knows what he meant by that,¡± the keeper claimed, ¡°but I do know that he got this weird mindset after getting reject by the same girl for three times in a year. By the way, please don¡¯t tell him I told you that¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Tann asked. ¡°Me? Just call me Stan,¡± grinned the keeper. ¡°Nice to meet you, Stan,¡± Tann¡¯s expressions suddenly became very friendly, ¡°I heard if I can get a discount if I know Loci.¡± ¡°Yea¡­but¡­¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± Tann smiled brightly, ¡°Let me tell you a secret of mine: I am not interested in male.¡± ¡°What do you mean¡­¡± Tann pointed behind Stan quickly, ¡°Can you get me that rifle with the wooden butt?¡± ¡°You want the AK?!¡± The shopkeeper seemed extremely shocked, ¡°What for? I remember you came into this shop asking for some self-defence weapon, that thing there is built for WAR!¡± ¡°Can you just chill and get it for me please?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Stan took the gun off the shelf, ¡° you may have it, but, I want you to show me something¡­¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Damn it!¡± Tann thought as she aimed at the target board that was twenty meters away. She was wearing a large pair of ear protection and a cloudy goggle, ¡°I can¡¯t reduce the recoil constant in front of him!¡± ¡°On your mark!¡± Stan shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°FIRE!¡± Tann pulled the trigger, and a huge force pushed against her shoulder, she tried to release the trigger, but for some reason, the recoil was so strong that she had almost lost her mind, all she could do was not letting the gun fly away from her hands. BANG! BANG! BANG! Click! The ammo final ran out. Tann took a deep sigh, but then she looked at the target board. It was as good as new. ¡°What the hell were you aiming at?¡± Stan spoke softly, ¡°Its either you or there are ghosts all around this room.¡± ¡°I say ghosts.¡± ¡°NO!¡± this is the first time Tann got screamed at by a bot, ¡°You are putting that thing down right NOW or you¡¯ll get yourself killed or be killed.¡± Hesitantly, Tann put down the rifle. Stan took out a pink towel and rubbed the sweat drops from his forehead, and put took out a bottle of pressured gas. He pulled charging handle and sprayed the gas into the smoking chamber to flush out the remaining gunpowder and dust, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you touch this thing again unless you learn some recoil control.¡± ¡°I can do the semiautomatic firing,¡± Tann said and took off her ear protection. ¡°Mate,¡± Stan replied annoyedly, putting the rifle back into its case, ¡°even your first shot missed the target!¡± Tann looked down at the ground without another word, at the same time Stan watched her with disappointment. He sighed and walked towards the side of the shooting range, he swiped a blank plastic card beside an electromagnetic lock and opened a long drawer, ¡°Have a go with this.¡± Tann turned to him, and realised the long iron pipe in his hands, ¡°Is that a¡­¡± ¡°The good old Benelli Nova,¡± Stan pulled the fore-end down, slid red coloured shell cartage into the magazine loading port, and pushed the fore-end back up. In a smooth motion, he aimed at a target and fired. BANG! The plastic board shattered by the cloud of lead. Stan blew away the muzzle smoke and handed the Nova to Tann with four shells, ¡°You don¡¯t need any skill to fire this one.¡± Tann rolled her eyes and loaded the shells one by one. ¡°Ready! Set! FIRE!¡± BANG! Clack! BANG! Clack! BANG! Clack! BANG! Clack! Clack! The firing stopped, the empty shells cases rolled on the ground in circles with smoke still coming out of them. Tann lowered the weapon and observed the result: The target board was completely destroyed. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Stan clapped in congratulation, ¡°This thing is half the price as AK but you can be sure on where you hit.¡± ¡°Thanks¡­¡± replied Tann, she looked at the gun again. Despite the simplicity of the gun, Tann hated its polymer buttstock and receiver as well as its dull black colour, ¡°but¡­¡± Stan seemed to notice Tann¡¯s disgust and suggested, ¡°We offer special colour versions, you can choose from brown, green, white, or even wood colours.¡± ¡°Is there blue?¡± Tann turned to him suddenly, ¡°If there¡¯s light blue, sure, I¡¯ll take one with another 100 steel shots.¡± Preparation Baaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~~~~~~ Mehhhhhhh~~~~~ Baaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~~~~ ¡°Being a sheep is such a pleasure.¡± Along the steep, grass-covered hillside, sheep stood loosely apart from each other, eating grass, minding their businesses. A grew sheep, with the function name ¡®CAST¡¯, took a bite of the oily grass below it, and chewed it slowly, but every movement of its chaw resulted in a few purple sparks generated from its mouth. ¡°Grass tastes great,¡± CAST laid down onto the grassland. Suddenly, the land under it liquified and became the ¡®water¡¯ that appeared before. CAST rolled itself from side to side, whenever the liquid became too far from its contact, it remerged as the original grassland, ¡°Shame that I can¡¯t pet myself¡­¡± A spark popped from CAST¡¯s fur and disappeared into the air. It stopped rolling, its mussels tensed as if waiting for approaching danger. After a few seconds, CAST relaxed back on its back, ¡°Well, Hetzer 1 failed. The surprise element is no longer there.¡± System:__Hetzer01_black_box_recover_1 ¡°Mehhhh~~~¡± CAST turned its head slightly sideways and took another bite of grass, ¡°her power function was still active, of course, the Hetzer can¡¯t handle her punch.¡± CAST rolled over again, with its belly facing the ground, ¡°Based on her reaction speed, I should probably adjust the manoeuvrability higher. More armour? Meh! Increase the hunger factor a bit!¡± System:__Hetzer_function_OpEN CAST:___FP@H_CP1_>_699.99_01 CAST:___FP@H_CP2_+_69_01 System:__Modific@tion_complete System:__Creating¡­ System:__Hetzer01.A1__complete ¡°Glop glop glop,¡± Tann finished her fifteenth can of energy drink of the day she, then she threw the empty can into a plastic bag that is filled with all the other drinks that she drank. She already had more than three heart attacks, busted more than a few thousand capillaries in her brain and her eye, but her recovery function was able to cope with all that. ¡°Now I can do whatever I wanted,¡± she laughed historically and pressed her left hand into her heart with force, ¡°heart! Did you hear that? I¡¯m going to drink as much as I want and you are not going die out like in the other world!¡± Tann kept on laughing and popped open another Monster Energy. As she laughed, caffeine-filled, cloudy teardrops rolled down her cheeks. She rubbed away her tears and poured the green liquid down her throat. ¡°Ah!¡± Tann made a small gasp and leaned back against the unpainted concrete wall. She felt lucky that the ¡®Northern Side¡¯ have existed in her world. Northern Side: Formerly acted as the Department of Foundation Studies of Qchong University. However, during Test Run 470 conducted by Tann and co, the Department of Foundation Studies was sieged by anti-government rioters and students were taken, hostage. During the police surrounding of the department, the rioters made use of the department¡¯s lab and tried to create explosives, but, during this process, an accident occurred and the entire department was set on fire. Soon, the fire spread (with the help of Phurder who increase the combustion rate function) to nearby housings, resulting in heavy casualties. Thus, the ruin was regarded as the Northern Side both within the simulation and among the CREATORS. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Tann stood up and patted her butt to remove the ashes, then, she picked up her Nova and emptied and refilled its ammo chamber. Cluck. BAM! She fired at a broken window across the room which shattered completely by the powerful shotgun blast. ¡°Why did he force me to do a shooting test!¡± she said, pumping the empty shell out of the gun. BAM! She shot a concrete pillar, as a result, a large piece of concrete flew off together with a cloud of dust. Cough. Cough. That was a bad move. Tann sneezed quietly and pumped another time. ¡°What should I shoot at this time,¡± she walked towards the broken window and looked outside. The street was still covered in dark ashes and broken glass from Test Run 470. Tann rested her gun on the window frame and shoot at the trunk of a dead tree. BAMMMmmmmmmmmmm¡­ The blast of the gun echo through the ruins, like the cry of a ghost. Click. Tann put on the safety and laid down her gun against the wall. Instead of reaching for new shotgun shells, she took out her keyboard, ¡°The range is still too short.¡± ¡°Ummm¡­¡± she put her hands softly on the keys and pondered, ¡°what¡¯s the range increase function again?¡± Suddenly, Tann realized something import: she didn¡¯t know the function name for the shotgun. ¡°What is it again?¡± she rubbed her chin rapidly, ¡°¡®HeavysG¡¯? No, no, no. ¡®GsG¡¯? Nah, that¡¯s for pistols!¡± She picked up the Nova in a panic, and searched for its label, ¡°Here it is¡­ Let me give it a try.¡± #Function_cheats_enable_StuG_01 System:_Cheat_Enable_StuG_complete ¡°YAY!¡± Tann cheered. #Function__01_range_<-8-> System:_Instant_Impact_complete Tann swiped her keyboard aside and stood up with the shotgun again, she pointed at another window that is located more than thirty meters away and she removed the safety. Click! ¡°Damn it,¡± Tann turned around and reached into an open paper box and took out a few red cylindrical shells. She pressed one of the shells into the feeder and pushed it in, then, followed the rest in with similar motions. Clutch! She held her breath and looked through the iron sight. BAMMMmmmmmm¡­Clack!BAMMMmmmmmmm¡­Clack!BAMMMmmmmmm¡­Clack!Click! After the muzzle smoke faded away, she searched for her results: the window remained intact with a few shell holes around it. ¡°What?¡± she breathed heavily. BAMMMmmmmmm¡­ ¡°What the hell?!¡± she loaded a few more shots into the gun, ¡°The program is already changed!¡± She sat back down and dragged herself the keyboard, ¡°What are all the shotgun functions? I remember we played with them a lot before.¡± The virtual monitor displayed all of the ¡®StuG¡¯ functions, Tann inspected them closely one by one. #Function_(spread)_constant_01 System:_spreadpattern__off System:_spreadpattern__on ¡°Aha, now you should be shooting where I aim at,¡± Tann said to the shotgun, she swung the barrel out of the window and pointed at a distant metal barrel. As Tann pressed down the trigger, two explosions happened simultaneously, one caused the firing of the shell, while the other caused by the bullets hitting the barrel. Although it didn¡¯t make sense for these two events to occur at the same time if we look at Tann¡¯s programs we¡¯ll get a better understanding. Firstly, she entered the code: #Function__01_range_<-8->. The term ¡®ray¡¯ stands for changing the bullets from being regarded as a moving particle to beams with ¡®infinite speed¡¯ that trigger with the first object that stands in the vector direction of the beam. However, this would not affect the damage of the bullet, instead, the bullets literally ¡®teleport¡¯ from the gun to the first barrier that the beam impact and its force are the same as being fired from point-blank range. On the barrel the bullet holes scattered closely within a small circle. This is due to the ¡®spread pattern¡¯ function. Originally the pellets all travel linearly from the gun at many angles to the initial line, meaning that as they travel further, they become further apart creating a large spread. So, by change the spread pattern to a cylinder, the pellets no longer obey the normal linear motion, instead, they only spread to a fixed range, and then continues straight within that range, thus creating a cylinder shape as they travel to the target. ¡°Nice,¡± Tann fully loaded her weapon and walked back to her bags and equipment. She reached into her bag and took out a small monitor and pressed a button on its top left corner. A split-screen display of hallways appeared: Tann had installed CCTV cameras all over the building. ¡°Now, I just need to wait here my guest to¡­¡± she suddenly remembered something which caused her to reach into her pocket. In her hand, a small brass-cased pocket mirror appeared. Tann fixed the gaze of her orange eyes onto her reflection from the mirror. She held her breath, waiting for her hair to start turning blue again. For a split second, she felt as if her the light blue shades in her golden hair had turned darker, but the next second, everything remained the same. Tann sighed and put the mirror back. She drew out the large handgun from its case and put it to her pistol holder on her waist and hang an ammo belt of shotgun shells across her chest. Clutch! ¡°I can survive!¡± Type A1 ¡°Excellent! Excellent! Baaaaaaaaaaaa!¡± the grey sheep said with excitement and joy. Clink! Piece of metal fell before CAST, most of them covered in thick and oily grease. The newly born monster expanded its wet yet spiky body. Unlike the previous Hetzer, this one had a belt of scales around its waist. It stretched out its long claws and let out a roar in ultrasound. CAST walked closer to it, ¡°Show me your shield.¡± The monster rapped its arms in front of it. The spikes on its arms extended, forming a large, dense net. ¡°Just hold here for a few seconds,¡± CAST said casually and stepped back, ¡°need to do a test before putting you in the ring. Bring out that piece of junk I found underground.¡± With the sound of motors, a large vehicle appeared from a platform that merged from beneath the ground. It was a half-wracked howitzer with a short barrel. ¡°Get ready, that thing is about to go boom¡­¡± CAST said it lifted one of its legs towards the howitzer. Soon, the cannon breach of the howitzer began to move by itself, dropping out empty shell cartage and loaded a new shell with a yellow tip and labelled ¡®High Explosive¡¯. KA-BOOM! The shell flew slowly towards (howitzers have a slow muzzle velocity) the Hetzer, as it contacted the shield, a huge explosion filled with sparks formed. Soon, the entire room was filled with smoke and dust. ¡°Cough! Cough!¡± CAST spit out some dust from its mouth, ¡°Should have done it outdoors¡­anyway, how¡¯s our contestant?¡± CAST looked down around him and saw a ton of broken spikes. However, a tall shadow slowly merged from the cloud. There was an enormous dent on the monster¡¯s shield, but it wasn¡¯t deep enough the pierce through. The monster groaned and stepped on the broken metal bits with its wire tangled foot. As it did that, all the broken bits were absorbed into its leg and its shield ¡®healed¡¯ itself. CAST walked around the monster, and nodded, ¡°Now you are ready to go. Oh! Don¡¯t forget to take some of those, because I think the ¡®target¡¯ should be well-positioned this time.¡± The Hetzer nodded in response and it walked towards the howitzer. Before it could reach the weapon, CAST stopped it by walking in front of it again, ¡°Remember, if you want to use those, make sure they can¡¯t be seen. If you are seen by a normal bot in your Hetzer form, get rid of it at once, that is a priority over the ¡®target¡¯.¡± ¡°Are you coming or not?¡± Tann looked through her new pair of army grade binoculars. Of course, it was adjusted by Tann: instead of seeing the appearances of objects, it shows the function identity of each object (for example a tree was showed as /object/_*%56*_¡¯tree¡¯_//). After waiting for a while, she stood up and switched to a different window. Under the grey clouds, everything seemed as still as a painting, only the cold breeze blowing across the weeds on the rooftops demonstrated some level of movement (also showing that the server was still active). Tann zoomed in slightly but got no interesting result, every object¡¯s function remained stable.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°What¡¯s my stamina level?¡± Tann reached for a half-empty bottle of Monster. System:_subject_Tann_stamina_50%_ ¡°A bit too low,¡± she hadn¡¯t got a single second of sleep since her last encounter with the monster. So, she finished the drink. System:_subject_Tann_stamina_59%_ ¡°Not as effective as before,¡± Tann sighed, she closed her eyes, ¡°guess I¡¯ll be needing a nap soon¡­¡± A strange feeling woke her up, she glanced through the scope. A middle-aged man appeared in the centre between two buildings. His general appearance seemed normal enough, but his expressions were blank and his skin looked as if it was made of rubber. /object/_*%01*_bot_78065417_¡¯Henry Nelson¡¯// ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s a normal bot¡­¡± /object/_*%69*_bot_*)&!#(*&!#_¡¯Hetzer¡¯// ¡°That seems more right,¡± Tann swung out her silver hand cannon or the .500 Magnum. She pulled the heavy hammer with both thumbs and closed one of her eyes while aiming through the iron sight. *click* BOOM! The shot hit a meter away from the bot, causing it to stop in its tracks. ¡°Good, stay there for me to prepare the camera.¡± Tann pressed the trigger slowly for another shot. *click* BOOM! *click* BOOM! *click* BOOM! *click* BOOM! ¡°WHAT THE HELL!?!¡± Of course, thanks to her aim, the bot remained intact. Instead of running away, he started sprinting towards Tann¡¯s building. *click* BOOM! The flaming titanium bullet went straight at the man¡¯s head. Like a hot wire across butter, it blasted half of the skull to bits but left the other half still connected to the neck. As expected by Tann, instead of flying brain matter and blood, all the bits that were destroyed turned into slops of metal. Tangled wires and grease burst from the half-skull. However, the monster remained standing, it reached up to its wound. What happened next shocked Tann: the monster ripped off the left-over bit of its head and dug its claws into its neck. In the meantime, its size increased dramatically, spikes growing out of its wire-flesh. ¡°No¡­no way¡­¡± Tann gasped, and picked up her Nova, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s a¡­¡± The monster dragged out a huge metal object: a high explosive shell. Before Tann could react, the monster threw the shell like a dart towards Tann¡¯s building. ¡°OH SH¡­!¡± With a huge explosion, the base structure of the building was destroyed, causing the top of the building to slowly tumble over. Tann grabbed onto a nearby pillar with all her strength. With a loud crash, the building fell to the ground. Luckily for her, she remained conscious after the dust settled down, but that is when she realized her legs were squashed under the former ceiling. She pushed aside the smaller bricks in front of her and saw the butt of her shotgun. As she reached out for it, a sudden pain caused her to stop. A long metallic spike had penetrated through the concrete and into Tann¡¯s outstretching arm. ¡°Ah!¡± she cried in pain but her arm was pinned to the ground firmly. Damage: 50% CLINK! Another spike right next to her face, leaving a long cut across her face. She tried to reach the gun with her other hand, but it was already squashed under a concrete block. Suddenly the large concrete ceiling above her was lifted and the light shined upon her again. For the second time, she came face to face with the monster, but this time, she couldn¡¯t see its head as it was blocked by a huge shield. Tann watched with fear as the monster lifted one of its tentacles like arm and prepared to strike onto Tann¡¯s head. Tocotocotoco! In the sky, a small, white, helicopter appeared out of nowhere. The monster stopped its movement and turned its actual head, a spherical object made of rubber pipes and a large broken binocular as its eye, to the helicopter. As it appeared, it was obvious that the helicopter was here to investigate. The monster let out a frustrated groan and pulled out one of its arms, it then removed a spike from its body. Like a javelin, it threw the spike at the cockpit of the helicopter. The bots in the cockpit had no time to react to the fast-approaching shot, and the spike smashed into the cockpit, penetrating the pilot¡¯s chest. A second later, the vehicle lost control and crashed into a nearby building. The monster watched the crash for a while, analyzing if there are any survivors. ¡°Done watching?¡± a voice entered the ¡®ear¡¯ (a recorder located on the monster¡¯s head) of the monster, reminding it of its other task. It turned its face back to¡­ BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! Click! BAM! The monster couldn¡¯t put its shied in place as Tann rested her shotgun an inch away from its head. The first few blasts complete shredded the monster¡¯s head and the next few shots grind deep into its chest, destroying everything within their paths. As Tann¡¯s firing stopped, the monster was headless and gained a massive hole in its central body. ¡°Do me a favour and stay dead,¡± Tann kicked the rest of the monster¡¯s body which fell back heavily. She tried to wipe away the dust on her face but her blood-stained hand added a new layer of a wet mixture onto her face. The monster¡¯s arm lifted slowly. CRASH! Tann beat it down with her shotgun¡¯s butt, ¡°Did you not hear what I said?¡± /object/_*%69*_bot_*)&!#(*&!#_¡¯Hetzer¡¯_eliminated// ¡°So, you have a name,¡± Tann laughed while the rest of the Hetzer¡¯s body decayed into metal junks that it had swallowed, ¡°nice to meet you, Hetzer.¡± Tann walked away from the Hetzer, she stopped and picked up something from the ruins: her keyboard. Another side of the mirror Dr Bino Distry pushed his way through the crowd of reporter-drones with his long thin arms (reporter-drones are robots fitted with recording equipment, that is controlled wirelessly by the news agencies). Finally, after bumping heavily into a few shorter reporter-drones, he reached the entrance to the ¡®Medical Centre¡¯. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Dr Distry? one of the reporter-drone that was blocked by Dr Distry noticed his presence, with its speaker the voice of the actual reporter appeared, ¡°Dr Bino Distry, what is the current situation, is Dr Tann Angle still alive?¡± Bino turned to the cylindrical robot that had a long extended camera on its top, ¡°She is fine and alive, and that¡¯s all I am permitted to say. Here, I am in quite a hurry, I¡¯ll answer a few more questions later¡­¡± ¡°Dr Distry¡­¡± before more reporter-drones could join the questioning, Dr Distry placed his palm onto the door which automatically unlocked and swung up, he then entered quickly left the scene. The Medical Centre was as chaotic as the outside, nursing robots, construction robots and other types of automated machines raced around like bees in a hive. Through the dense traffic, Bino arrived at his destination, the intense care room. ¡°Finally here?¡± Dr Puler noticed Dr Bino¡¯s arrival and opened the door for him. ¡°Any good news?¡± ¡°She is still alive,¡± Phurder said quickly. In the centre of the room was a large glass container with a thick junction of wires connected from it into the roof. Under the thin layer of glass, Tann rested ¡®peacefully¡¯. Bino walked slowly towards his unconscious superior. At last, he let out a sigh of relief after seeing the tiny movements made Tann¡¯s chest as she breathed from an oxygen mask. ¡°Please take a seat Dr Distry,¡± Bino turned to his left and noticed Cotanian who was seating on the ground. ¡°Why don¡¯t you seat on a chair?¡± Bino asked as he grabbed over a hovering chair. ¡°Don¡¯t feel like it,¡± Cotanian said softly and sobbed. Before more words were said, two more entered into the room, they were Theta Jenner and Cine Graff. Theta walked in front Tann, she took out a small, black-covered book (a rare object in Tann¡¯s world as every literal work had been digitalized) from her brown artificial leather bag, muttered a few words and placed the book onto her chest. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Cine patted Theta¡¯s shoulder genteelly, ¡°she¡¯ll be back. There is no way a goddess can lose to the world she created.¡± Theta held onto Cine¡¯s hand and took a deep breath to hold her tears back. Together the two settled down next to Bino. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Dr Puler, Dr Cotanian,¡± Bino began, ¡°any progress on the software?¡± ¡°Not much really,¡± Phurder sighed, ¡°Cotanian and I managed to crack in the first layer of bug, but all we got are new bugs, like this one (while speaking, he used his watch to produce a virtual display of different functions). Well, at least we know that she is still active in the system since we saw two attempted log out functions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better than before,¡± Bino replied bitterly, ¡°anything I can do about the hardware?¡± ¡°Thank you Dr Distry,¡± Cotanian spoke up, a little more confidence had appeared from her voice, ¡°you did spotlessly when transferring Tann from the core to here, but I am afraid there aren¡¯t much you can do at the moment. We¡¯ll ask you to restart the whole system a bit later.¡± ¡°No problem, Dr Cotanian,¡± Bino nodded, then he turned to the others, ¡°as stated in Article 21, page 68, line 4 if the captain of the CREATORS is out of action, the vice-captain needs to step up as the captain. I think it is the time for this line to become active before Dr Angle recovers. So, do we all agree at the moment, Dr Cotanian is the captain of the CREATORS and she will be making the decisions for¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± Cotanian cried. Everyone remained silent, waiting for her next line. Cotanian leaned back, ¡°I¡¯m going in.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Phurder almost let out a giggle, ¡°where?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to enter the program and solve the problem internally with the in-program controls and I will meet her and tell her everything¡¯s alright!¡± Cotanian shouted, eyes closed. Bino stood up from his chair and squat in front of Cotanian who covered her face under her arms, ¡°I know how you feel right now, but don¡¯t we all miss Dr Angle the same? She is a great captain, she had helped each one of us, no matter its programming issues or salary issues, she was always there. However, the reason why Dr Angle chooses you to be her vice-captain is that she trusted that you¡¯ll be able to manage the CREATORS well if she is gone. It is more important for you to take the leadership role, just tell us what to¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡± all the shocked faces turned to Phurder Puler, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? There¡¯s no point risking Cotanian into this piece of ¡­ program. We¡¯ll probably end up worse if both the captains are gone. I¡¯d always been the lazy one in the team, and I knew it long ago. I know all of you hated my attitude, that¡¯s why I should go in and get her out¡­¡± ¡°Dr Puler,¡± Bino stood up, ¡°I can guarantee you that no one here hates you to a personal level. You might be annoying sometimes, but we all appreciate your work in managing the whole system. As we all know, this program is currently very unstable. You might end up like Chris Huygen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that name again,¡± Phurder said angrily all of a sudden, ¡°I just don¡¯t want the same incident to happen to Dr Angle again.¡± ¡°Chris¡­that guy is dead!¡± Bino shouted, ¡°All because he wanted to try some weird stuff with the bots, and guess, the same happened, he got locked in, we lost his signal, his brain deactivates. Now, you can go visit him in his god damn grave!¡± Phurder came face to face with Bino, he was about to scream, but he sucked in some air and said with a dangerous voice, ¡°So what? Are you gonna tell me that I¡¯m gonna be dead? So WHAT?! I can probably live freer that way. Dr Angle was the only reason why I could stay here until this day if I don¡¯t risk my life for her¡­¡± ¡°It is not only you who wants to risk life,¡± Cotanian joined the argument, ¡°Dr Distry, thank you for stating the dangers, but allow me, the captain to make a decision.¡± ¡°Cotanian¡­¡± ¡°Dr Puler,¡± Cotanian stood from the ground, ¡°I want you to stay here, eyes fixed on the control monitor, telling me the situation while I try to rescue Dr Angle.¡± ¡°Cotanian,¡± Phurder laughed hysterically, ¡°do you seriously don¡¯t trust me that much?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Cotanian,¡± Cine walked behind Phurder, ¡°Theta and I agree with Dr Bino and Dr Puler, you should stay.¡± Cotanian opened her mouth, but no words came out, so she closed it and backed down. ¡°So,¡± Bino turned to Phurder, ¡°are you sure about this?¡± ¡°As sure as eggs are eggs,¡± Phurder replied with determination, ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare the entrance.¡± Builders Club A small group, around a few dozen, of people/bots crowded around a gigantic building with a smooth, semi-spherical roof. It was the famous ¡®Eshort Space Centre¡¯. They cared all sorts of banners, posters or even religious symbols (in the middle of the crowd was a gigantic Cross made of polystyrene boards and spray-painted gold). This reminded Tann of her original task: observe the bots¡¯ reaction to program changes. Thus, Tann stopped and joined the crowd. ¡°TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON!¡± one shouted. ¡°LONG LIVE THE LORD!¡± another echoed. ¡°WE NEED AN EXPLANATION!¡± Tann looked around, the protestors consisted of people from different age groups. There were a few younger ones dressed in full black suits and a bunch of beard man in priest uniforms. ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± Tann asked a close by a girl who was waving a book that had a large title¡ª¡®Bible¡¯. The girl looked at her curiously, ¡°Don¡¯t you know? All the galaxies, stars started to orbit our planet in an instant. We¡¯ll see if ¡®rationality¡¯ or you may say as science can give a valid explanation, but if not, we¡¯ll try to solve this mystery from the perspective of supernatural powers, i.e. God.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Tann turned and pointed at a young man who appeared to be the leader of the protestors (he was standing on a plastic chair), ¡°do you know who is that?¡± ¡°Aha,¡± the girl replied, ¡°that¡¯s Julian Paradise, the student head of Philosophy Department. He¡¯s quite famous you know? Do you read the Red Sun ?¡± ¡°No, what¡¯s that?¡± From her large pocket, the girl took out a folded magazine and handed it to Tann, ¡°Have a read of page 19 to page 24. That¡¯s his article blog on the magazine.¡± ¡°Do you not need it?¡± Tann asked, taking over and unfolding the magazine¡¯s cover. In the centre, there was a gigantic wooden cross with a blood-red sun painted in the back and bold captions that read ¡®A New Christ?¡¯. ¡°Nah,¡± the girl laughed, ¡°I have a photographic memory, so you can keep it if you want.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Tann put the magazine into her carry-on bag (she tried very hard not to accidentally show her bloodstained Nova). A loud cheer from the crowd made Tann turned her focus back to the entrance of the brick-red building. The steel door swung open slowly and a rather skinny man appeared from the gap, ¡°Can you people quiet down a bit¡­¡± ¡°Tell us the answer!¡± the long-haired young man named Julian Paradise shouted with a loudspeaker in his hand, ¡°We don¡¯t care about the details for now, but we want to know generally what happened to our universe.¡± The skinny man sighed, ¡°I was about to tell you, our senior professors are currently undergoing a formal debate of all the existing theories and you people are interrupting their presentations.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Julian backed down, ¡°We¡¯ll let them be for now, but next Saturday, we are going to host a mass rally right here and we have the right to know the truth.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Alright, Imma heading out.¡± after hearing Julian¡¯s words, Tann turned around and headed towards her original destination. The school had changed quite drastically since her last visit. The previously half-empty notice boards were overfilled with layers of posters, stickers or even pages that were ripped from a journal. Many of these documents were debate invitations with location and time details. Not only the notice boards but all the street lamps were also coated with these items too. Right across the path, Tann saw two students: one of them carried a huge bundle of papers under his arm while the other held a bucket of glue and a brush. However, Tann didn¡¯t have much time to look deeper into her impact in her world¡ªshe had more important things to do. ¡°Thanks to all your efforts today!¡± Loci Parametric said across his home/lab, ¡°Did you all enjoy the designing processes? I can¡¯t hear you? YES! That¡¯s the attitude!¡± Unlike Tann¡¯s visit last time, the room finally contained more people than engines. Also, at it seemed, with more people, the room became far tidier. ¡°Well,¡± Loci looked at his clunky, home-made watch that was crafted out of a cross-section of a steel pipe, ¡°I am very sorry that we did more clean-up than crafting, but if you show up at 3:30 pm again tomorrow, you can fully commit to your creations. That¡¯s it for today, feel free to leave¡­Oh! Remember to think about which team you want to enter.¡± As the students took their leave, Loci sat down on a tall chair and took a self-adjusting wrench from the table. He drew the wrench behind him and shoved it under his clothes. He reached for a short while, and finally, ¡®Click¡¯ the wrench held onto a steel bolt on his back. Skillfully he rotated the wrench followed by a few quiet clicks. ¡°Feeling any better?¡± A student who was about twice Loci¡¯s height sat down beside him. ¡°Still hurts like hell when I stood for too long,¡± following a final click, Loci withdrew his wrench, ¡°I should probably go for an x-ray check soon and see if they can give me a new exoskeleton.¡± ¡°Stop talking to the old man, McCro and help me do a software check,¡± Rosy demanded as she typed speedily on a keyboard. ¡°Coming mama,¡± the tall student stood up, and brushed his clean trousers with a tiny white brush which he took out from his pocket, ¡°by the way, who¡¯s that student you were talking about? Did she come today?¡± Rosy sighed and stopped her typing, ¡°Nah, she probably has other things to do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± McCro walked towards a computer that was still on. He sat down politely in front of it and started scrolling through the programs, ¡°well, it is her choice in the end, but this guy, the boy in orange hair who used this computer, seemed quite good. His functions skills were basic but neat and well structured. What¡¯s his name again? Is it Isaac Hook or something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Loci said from his seat, ¡°Have you not heard of him? He was the new kid who did 20 B levels in high school and got 6** for all of them? He¡¯s even on the news!¡± ¡°You watch the news?!¡± Rosy gasped ironically, ¡°Interesting, you hardly knew the news about the whole universe starts spinning around us but you managed to memories these kinds of weird things.¡± ¡°I am random person,¡± Loci replied and straightened his back a bit, ¡°damn it, I adjusted it too much.¡± ¡°You really should go swimming,¡± McCro suggested, ¡°it is the best cure for scoliosis.¡± ¡°NOOOOOO!¡± Loci screamed, ¡°I HATE SWIMMING!!!!!¡± ¡°If you want a floaty,¡± Rosy giggled, ¡°I can buy you a pink one.¡± Loci blushed with anger but before he could put forward an attack, the door slammed open. The golden-haired girl marched in. ¡°Hello,¡± Tann glanced at the shocked faces around the room, ¡°ummm¡­are you guys done?¡± ¡°Yes, but may I please ask you who you are?¡± McCro walked up to Tann, ¡°My name is McCro Alexander, the secretary of Builder¡¯s Club and member of Team NEKO, may I please help you?¡± Tann looked at the overdressed guy (¡®are you going to a wedding or something?¡¯ she thought to herself), ¡°Well, do you know where¡¯s Loci Parametric?¡± ¡°Aha!¡± McCro¡¯s face light up, ¡°Are you here to register? Our club host right over there. May I please apologies for him: he cannot welcome you while standing now, because he has a spinal problem and he is currently fixing his spinal supporter.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Tann walked pass McCro and accidentally exchanged a glance with Rosy. Tann stopped and approached Rosy slowly. Rosy turned her face to her screen, pretending to ignore Tann¡¯s presence. ¡°Hello Rosy,¡± Tann smiled awkwardly. ¡°Where were you?¡± Rosy asked sharply and pressed the ¡®enter¡¯ button heavily. ¡°Sorry,¡± Tann bowed her head slightly, ¡°I was at a protest¡­¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TELL ME YOU ARE A JULIAN FAN!¡± Loci cried. ¡°Whose Julian?¡± Tann turned to the angry little person. McCro Alexander stepped between Tann and Loci, ¡° Please allow me to explain, Julian Paradise is the most recognized philosophy student at Qchong University. Loci here doesn¡¯t support of Julian¡¯s ideologies, that¡¯s why he is very passionate topics related to Julian.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Tann shifted her attention back to Rosy. Suddenly, a strange feeling caused her face to redden a little when she met Rosy¡¯s warm gaze from her green eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Tann looked at the ground, ¡°May I ask you for something¡­¡± Decode Rosy raised an eyebrow, ¡°What?¡± Tann paused for a short period and said, ¡°Where can I find a CPU with ¡­¡­20000 Giga Hertz¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying,¡± Loci said bluntly, ¡°although I am not good with computers, that sounds unusually large¡­¡± ¡°Have you attended any Computer Science classes?¡± Rosy asked with a shaking voice. ¡°No¡­¡± Rosy, pulled out her laptop and turned it upside down. Using a thin screwdriver, she unscrewed a small plastic cover on her computer. Inside was a small white chip with blue rims. Carefully with a pair of plastic-tipped tweezers, she removed the chip and put it in front of Tann¡¯s eyes. ¡°This,¡± she stated, ¡°is the most powerful CPU for a desktop computer, which I somehow fitted into my laptop¡­¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Loci nodded, ¡°and guess who did all the work of making the smallest cooler that works with this thing?¡± Rosy ignored Loci¡¯s comment and carried on explaining, ¡°and this has a processing power of 10 Giga Hertz.¡± Tann nodded in agreement slowly. ¡°Alright,¡± Rosy put the chip back into her laptop, ¡°The school¡¯s computer department has the world¡¯s strongest computer, that takes the volume of a sports hall with six basketball courts, has a processing power of 2000 Giga Hertz.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Ok¡­¡± Rosy grabbed Tann by the shoulders, ¡°Tell me! What on Earth are you trying to do?!¡± Tann looked guiltily from side to side, her face blushing a little from Rosy¡¯s semi-embrace, ¡°Ummmm¡­ to calculate pi¡­¡± ¡°Pfffff¡± Loci just sipped water, but he spat all of it out everywhere. After seeing this, McCro quickly went around a bench and took out a mop. Rosy didn¡¯t say anything, she looked suspiciously at Tann, ¡°Well¡­If you manage to connect 2000 of these 10 GHz processors, and most importantly, cool them quickly before they set you to house on fire, yes, you can, in theory, get your, super-duper computer.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s going to cost you approximately 2 million dollars without tax,¡± said McCro. ¡°Stop flexing your mental Maths skills,¡± jeered Loci. ¡°Alright,¡± said Tann, ¡° I understand.¡± The 3 remained in silence for a long time, until McCro finally broke it by producing a form from his pocket, ¡°Oh, by the way, I heard you are interested in our club, are you here to sign up?¡± ¡°Aha,¡± Tann looked down at the form, ¡°Can I not sign it now, since I missed the session today.¡± ¡°Sure no problem,¡± said McCro, ¡°elite programmers are always welcomed here, since our host, Loci¡­¡± ¡°MCCRO!!!!¡± Loci shouted. Tann looked at the red-faced Mechanical Engineer and took out a card from her pocket, ¡°seen this before?¡± McCro, Loci and Rosy all moved closer to the card. After a second, all their expressions turned to shock. ¡°How¡­how the hell did you get this?!¡± ¡°Surprise,¡± Tann grinned, ¡°I am allowed to keep my secrets.¡± ¡°Who are¡­ you working¡­ with?¡± Loci stumbled across his words. ¡°Haven¡¯t decided yet,¡± Tann replied. ¡°Hey,¡± Rosy flipped out her laptop and went onto her search engine, ¡°I am pretty sure the restrictions are¡­HANG ON?! When did they change it?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Tann walked towards Loci, ¡°I can touch that big gun turret you have.¡± Loci still haven¡¯t recovered from his shock. So Tann walked past him and picked up the huge box that housed the turret. ¡°What are you doing?¡± McCro asked with surprise. ¡°Can I borrow this thing?¡± Tann asked. Rosy stepped in Tann¡¯s way, ¡°We are not gonna let some random first-year who is not even a part of our club to illegally take an automatic heavy weapon from this room.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Tann turned to Loci, ¡°If you want MARY to work, you better let me take this thing home.¡± ¡°What¡¯s MARY?¡± asked both Rosy and McCro. Loci¡¯s expression had turned completely blank, his jaws dropped as if he had turned into a corpse. ¡°I guess that¡¯s a yes.¡± Tann smiled wickedly. The tables had turned, Rosy and McCro shifted their focus onto Loci and let Tann through with the minigun turret. ¡°What is she talking about?¡± Rosy questioned. ¡°Who¡¯s Mary?¡± McCro pressured. As Tann reached the entrance, Loci suddenly regained his senses again, ¡°Are you sure?!¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tann blinked and exited. Loci let out a sigh of relief and turned to Rosy and McCro, ¡°Nothing much for you to know.¡± Investigation Tann rested the wheeled box that housed the deadly weapon against the wall. Then she took out a notebook (her virtual note-taking ability was lost) covered in her scribbles that consisted of a mixture of cursive and standard fonts. ¡°Lucky that I have a good memory,¡± Tann claimed as she flipped into a page with a large title, ¡®USEFUL BOTS¡¯. There were a few names including Loci¡¯s. Using a red pen, Tann drew a start next to Loci¡¯s name, ¡° That¡¯s my best counter him after I lose my Mind Reading ability.¡± She laid back and looked at the ceiling, ¡°Seriously, that guy played too much dating simulator.¡± After thinking to herself for a few seconds, Tann turned to the blast-proof box and unlocked it. She picked up the weapon and deployed its tripod. Then, carefully, she put the heavy drum magazine onto the chamber and rotated the barrel manually to feed in a shell. Click! All set, the weapon was well and loaded. ¡°Right,¡± Tann pulled out her laptop and a short wire, ¡°how should I control you?¡± She looked around the weapon and finally found the plug to her wire, ¡°Excellent!¡± ¡°Inspector Dex,¡± a few men dressed in police uniform entered a room filled with files, photographs and test tubes, one of the men who held a tablet started ¡°have you heard¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± near the windows that were made of a few inches of bullet-proof glass, a pale middle-aged man waved his gloved hand, ¡°please take a seat gentlemen.¡± ¡°Thank you Inspector Dex,¡± the men replied and sat among the documents. ¡°Let me guess,¡± Inspector Dex took out a small plastic bag and opened it, then, he poured the dried coffee powder into his mouth, ¡°you guys thought that it was not the helicopter¡¯s problem that caused the crash?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Exactly Inspector Dex,¡± another policeman who had a few golden badges on his chest replied, ¡°the tech team had examined the black box, but all the engine status, rudder control, and¡­other things I cannot remember were in perfect condition¡­¡± Suddenly there was a rapid knock on the door. ¡°Come in!¡± Dex shouted. A girl with long hair that had a similar colour as Inspector Dex entered the room. Her light blue uniform indicated her status as a new police recruit. She shared a glance with Dex and walked towards one of the policemen. ¡°Sir here is an emergent report from the Department of Technology,¡± she handed a red folder to the policeman. The policeman casually flipped open the file, but suddenly his expressions changed. ¡°New info about the black box?¡± Dex laughed. ¡°¡­Ye¡­yes,¡± the policeman uttered. ¡°Right,¡± Dex sat up, he turned to the girl, ¡°I think there will be something interesting, so I suggest you want to stay and listen quietly.¡± Then he turned back to the policeman, ¡°can she stay here?¡± ¡°No problem Inspector Dex,¡± a policeman laughed, ¡°your sister, sorry, Sergeant Dey, is probably the most talented crime fighter since you, Inspector Dex.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said Dex, he gestured his sister to stand near the bookshelf beside the door. ¡°Alright, let me sum up what¡¯s happening,¡± said the policeman, switching his focus back to his folder, ¡°Apparently, the tech team had made a great mistake: the engine was broken in the last minute of the flight.¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Dex let out a burst of high pitched laughter that caused the glass test tubes to resonate, ¡°Old Candy made an oopsie.¡± Seeing the inspector¡¯s reaction, the rest of the policeman started to giggle. ¡°Well, well, well,¡± after taming his emotions, Dex looked at Dey, ¡°now, all the proof show that it is an accident, I should better focusing on the serial murder case that is all over the news.¡± He winked at Dey, ¡°how about let us give Sergeant Dey good training with this task?¡± The policeman looked at each other and all nodded, finally, one said, ¡°sure, I¡¯ll get the case filed under Sergeant Dey¡¯s name once I get back to the office.¡± ¡°Thank you very much,¡± said both Dex and Dey. The two watched as the policeman departed from Dex¡¯s office. Dey stepped towards the door and closed it quickly, ¡°Thanks, big brother.¡± ¡°Nooooo problem,¡± Dex yawned on his chair, ¡°to be honest, I need someone to handle the pressure.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Dey walked towards Dex¡¯s desk, ¡°I should better check with Dr Candy and pay the crash site a visit.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Dex sat up, and pulled out a thin piece of paper from his pile of documents, ¡°however, have a look at this before visiting the crash site.¡± Dey took the photo and put it under Dex¡¯s desk lamp. She studied it closely with her large green eyes and looked up to her brother, ¡°This is in the Northern Side right?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Dex pointed at his bookshelf, ¡°can you please take that blue folder down? Thanks. Now, this is some information about the Northern Side that I gathered over the period. 5 years ago, it used to be the warm bed for gangs and mobsters, but in these 5 years, our police force had broken the majority of them down¡­¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Dey, ¡°and the helicopter was, in fact, searching for the surviving gang members in the area.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± Dex gave Dey a thumbs-up, ¡°tell me about the photos.¡± Dey pointed at the left-hand corner of the photo, ¡°that building was destroyed, however, it is not destroyed by the crash.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Dex clapped, ¡°anything more about that¡± ¡°An explosion¡­¡± ¡°Spot on,¡± Dex stood up from his chair, ¡°I look forward to calling you Inspector Dey.¡± Beginning The cold, sharp light from the bright light shined upon the plain white sheets on top of the bodies. Dey glanced around the room and put on a facemask. Across the room, a plump man sat in front of a dissection table, even with his fat, gloved fingers, he was still able to play around with a small surgery knife like a fidget. ¡°Dr Candy?¡± Dey cleared her throat and spoke up. Dr Candy swung around his chair and faced Dey, ¡°Your big brother sent you here to beat me up?¡±. As he chuckled, he put down the surgery knife and took off his gloves. ¡°Dr Candy,¡± stated Dey, ¡°I am now fully in charge of this case.¡± Dr Candy took off his glasses and rubbed against his sleeve, ¡°expected. Right, let me show you what I¡¯ve got.¡± He stood up and walked towards the white sheets. Swiftly, he removed the first one, which showed a metal case with a few dents, ¡°This is that annoying black box that I¡¯m having trouble with. In theory, given that it is almost perfectly intact, it is impossible for any weird results, but, well, we have an interesting god.¡± ¡°Can you send me your results?¡± asked Dey. ¡°Sure,¡± Candy took out a notepad from his pocket and wrote on it, ¡°just to make sure, I am going to examine it again later today. The helicopter¡¯s bits will be in vehicles department, you can check those out later, but I¡¯ve already got the photos of key components.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Dey smiled, she turned to the other 3 sheet covered bodies, ¡°these¡­are the crews right?¡± Candy nodded, ¡°Yes, unfortunate young men. Nothing special about those two near the corner, but this one next to you is probably the most unfortunate.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Silently Candy lifted the sheet, and the body of the crew was exposed. In the middle of his chest was a gigantic hole which shattered ribcage could be seen. Dey took a deep breath at the horrific sight, ¡°What¡¯s the cause of this wound?¡± Candy pointed at a long, broken pipe beside the body, ¡°He is the pilot, as it appeared when the helicopter crashed, this pipe penetrated right through the cockpit and pierced him right through.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°The tip looks quite sharp to me,¡± claimed Dey, ¡°any clue on where this pipe may come from?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Candy replied, ¡°remember that place used to be a chemical research lab? There were plenty of pipes like this around the area, but you are right, when we found the body, this pipe was detached from its original place, probably ripped off by the force.¡± ¡°Anything else that¡¯s worth mention,¡± Dey blinked quickly as she memorized the information. ¡°Nothing particular for me to mention personally, but all the data will send to you on the portal.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± Dey smiled gratefully, ¡°thank you very much, Dr Candy, if you have any further discoveries, please inform me.¡± Tann entered Alucard¡¯s Firearms with her big carryon bag. Unlike last time, a few other customers were awaiting near the counter. Instantly, Tann¡¯s nose was filled with the strong smell of weed which made her cough rapidly. ¡°There she is!¡± Stan pointed at Tann which caused the other customers to turn their heads, ¡°She¡¯s the kid who asked to buy an AK.¡± ¡°Quit pretending to be a loudspeaker,¡± Tann barked, she swung her bag heavily onto the counter as the other customers glanced her curiously. ¡°Say chick,¡± asked one man who was wearing a size S shirt to showcase his mussels without going naked, ¡°why do you need an AR when you can¡¯t handle anything bouncy?¡± Tann shared him a cold glance. ¡°Come¡¯ on,¡± the men laughed, ¡°don¡¯t be so cool, even as policemen can hardly get the chance to handle a full-auto rifle.¡± Tann ignored the stranger and presented her Nova, ¡°Stan, can you get this thing cleaned?¡± Since its last use, the Nova was submerged in the thick fluid from the monster¡¯s body. Stan looked down at the gun that was covered by shades of green grease, ¡°what¡­where did you use it?¡± The other customers, who were already interested by Tann gathered around quickly, ¡°Chick, have you been shooting aliens recently? The night stars are already messed up, but didn¡¯t expect their invasion to come so quickly.¡± ¡°Close enough,¡± Tann muttered to herself, she took out a few crumbly banknotes, ¡°please get this thing cleaned and give me 6 boxes of 20mm titanium core armour-piercing shells, remember I want them in chains.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± the men who claimed to be the police officer raised his hand, ¡°I am pretty sure you don¡¯t¡­¡± Before he could finish his speech, Tann¡¯s card was right in front of his face, ¡°Happy? Good! Also, Stan, can you suggest a pistol with a larger magazine?¡± ¡°Kids nowadays get to play around with some big guns,¡± Stan smirked at the policeman, then he turned to Tann, ¡°I am pretty sure, you are gonna fire all these shells at once, how about instead of 6 boxes, I connect them all into one long chain so you can fit them into one wooden crate?¡± ¡°That will be nice,¡± said Tann as she bends down to look at the pistols. ¡°Hey kid,¡± another man in a motorcycle suit spoke, ¡°I heard you want some badass firepower right?¡± ¡°Hell yeah!¡± ¡°Right,¡± the man claimed, ¡° for your shotgun, why don¡¯t you get some solid slugs? They ain¡¯t good for bird hunting but packs a punch when you are shooting at heavier things.¡± Tann looked up, ¡°Really? Stan! Do you have any of those?¡± Stan just placed Tann¡¯s Nova in the cleaning machine, he turned around quickly and picked up two shells from his workbench, ¡°Of course!¡± He laid down the two shells in front of Tann, one of them have a regular solid tip, while another one has thing gaps along its tip, ¡°this one is regular buckshot, but this one¡­¡± ¡°Kid,¡± the policeman spoke again, ¡°what on Earth are you shooting?¡± ¡°I need data on penetration and weapon spread,¡± Tann answered quickly, ¡°clear enough? Okay, thanks to Stan, carry on, what¡¯s up with that weird shell.¡± ¡°This is the expanding shell,¡± said Stan, he picked up the shell and tried to show how it splits upon impact, ¡°you see, when this thing hits, it expands out, causing a huge wound. Well, how many do you want?¡± ¡°I want 40 regular shots and 20 expanding shots.¡± Counter Beep! Tann put down her new screwdriver and picked up her energy drink, ¡°That¡¯s all the sensors installed.¡± She pushed the grey coloured box carefully, making sure that it is secured in the shady corner of the room. Then, she took out a white oval-shaped plastic blob and pointed it at the sensor. Soon, the green LED on the plastic blob started to flash, indicating that it is connected. ¡°Great,¡± Tann turned around and entered another room, ¡°lucky that I am able to find this abandoned swimming pool. This time, the building won¡¯t be coming falling down.¡± In the centre of the pool was a fortress made of empty oil barrels and sandbags and shiny barbed wire. Tann laid down onto her ¡®bed¡¯, a few sandbags, and took out her new laptop, ¡°Alright, sensors, do your job.¡± As soon as Tann entered the command codes, the recording from all the cameras and sensors were displayed on the screen. ¡°Infrared, check, X-ray, check, motion, check, Radio wave, check,¡± Tann mumbled through each display and clicked on the ¡®enter¡¯ key, ¡° microwave, check, pulse-echo range finder, ready.¡± Finally sure that all the sensors were ready, Tann opened a new tab, the search engine. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± she scrolled through the lists of products, ¡°there are a lot of processors online, but I forgot which one Rosy used. Should I head out and ask her?¡± She put down her laptop aside, and stared at the steel roof, ¡°This is probably the safest spot for me right now¡­¡± Beep, Beep, Beep! ¡°ALREADY?!¡± Tann grabbed her shotgun and pistol. ¡°Which sensor did it activate?¡± Tann picked up her laptop. The blurry images of a few bots appeared in the visible light sensor, the infrared sensor as well as a motion sensor, ¡°You¡¯ve got yourself a few friends.¡± Tann turned to the entrance to the swimming pool and put her keyboard onto her lap. Quickly she typed in a function. BAM! The door was knocked open with the butt of a shotgun. ¡°STAY WHERE YOU ARE!¡± Tann shouted, holding her pistol (it was secured onto an oil barrel) with one hand, and her other hand on the ¡®enter¡¯ key. ¡°Hands up and put down your weapon right now!¡± one of the intruders shouted, ¡°We are the QChong poli¡­¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Enough talking!¡± Tann screamed back, ¡°Just reveal yourselves.¡± ¡°What are you on about,¡± one of the intruders lowered his riot shield and took out a copper badge, ¡°we are the anti-terrorist force from QChong Police Department. Now, if you don¡¯t lower your weapon we¡¯ll¡­¡± Enter. Function:_Vector>(16985.4456i+11308.006J+976894k)+-50_F^_Cancel_ The special forces members only heard a small click, and suddenly their feeling of weight was gone. It was a strange feeling as their former solid bodies started to collapse due to gravity, and a section of the ground started to sink rapidly too. They tried to jump aside, but no matter how much they try, they couldn¡¯t produce the force. The ground was like a swamp that pulls them down. Newton¡¯s Third law & Reactional force: When a force acts from object A to object B, an opposite force with the same magnitude will act from object B to object A. Reactional force is the force that appears to balance out an acting force. ¡°That¡¯s easy,¡± Tann sighed, ¡°just needed to remove the reactional force from the ground.¡± Function:_Vector>(16985.4456i+11308.006J+976894k)+-50_F^_ON_ She walked towards the place where the special force members disappeared and looked at the gigantic hole on the ground. Nothing was left. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Tann checked her laptop again, ¡°They are just like the other bots, detected by the infrared sensors and light sensors¡­¡± ¡°Wait,¡± She paused for a second, ¡°the other two didn¡¯t speak, don¡¯t they. I should have asked¡­¡± She stopped and stared at the door. A bot was standing there. He had no fancy armour, riot shield or gears. Just an ordinary man in some unwashed shirt. ¡°Who are you¡­¡± Tann stepped back drawing out her shotgun. ¡°Bzzzz¡­*($!...#!!@#....Bzzzzz¡± The man replied, and his eyeballs started to protrude rapidly, ¡°Bzzzz¡­.*&#!...HETZER¡­.!#$¡± ¡°Hetzer?¡± Tann laughed, ¡°What kind of dumb name is that?¡± BAM! Fired at point blank range, the slug shot removed half of the person¡¯s jaw, exposing the wires and pipes that had long replaced the veins and capillaries of a normal bot. Yet, the Hetzer remained standing, and finally the eyeballs pop out and were replaced by two non-identical light bulbs. BAM! Cluck! BAM! Cluck! BAM! Cluck! Tann fired away her weapon, she retreated back after each shot. However, a dark gel appeared at the wounds opened by the shots, and hardened. The Hetzer formed a shield with its spikes and extended its other spikes like spears. It started to charge towards Tann at a slow pace. Function:_Vector>(16985.4456i+11308.006J+976894k)+-50_F^_Cancel_ As the Hetzer realized something was off, half of its body had entered the killing zone. Soon, these parts started to dismantle and sunk underground. With its leg, the Hetzer jumped back desperately, but the damage was already done. ¡°Now we are talking,¡± Tann laughed evilly. ¡°Bzzzz¡­*#(&$!!¡± Tann approached the downed monster with two electrode pins, ¡°come here, it won¡¯t hurt much, just kidding.¡± SWOOSH. A Dark Object suddenly flew pass Tann¡¯s face and the next second, a long cut appeared on her left cheek. ¡°What¡­¡± The dark gel from the Hetzer¡¯s body formed a small arm that pushed itself up. From its linear mouth, disk-like blades projected quickly towards Tann. ¡°AH!¡± Tann cried in pain and fell back as the disks penetrated her arms and legs. ¡°BZZZZZ¡± Regaining the advantage, the Hetzer start to craw towards its prey¡­A strange feeling stopped the Hetzer in its advance. It turned its ¡®eye¡¯¡ªan old video recorder, towards its body. Its former rigid body had turned into something like shredded cheese. Finally, it heard the sound of destruction. DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! DA! Click-k-k-k-k-k. The barrels of the turret finally stopped rotating once the shells ran out, allowing the white smoke to pour its barrels. What¡¯s left of the Hetzer was a pile of metal scraps and dried-out black gel. ¡°I should probably set a mute function on it next time,¡± Tann¡¯s wounds had healed. She crept closer to the Hetzer¡¯s remains. Everything remained motionless. ¡°I¡¯ll need to borrow this from you,¡± claimed Tann as she picked up the broken video recorder that used to be a part of the Hetzer¡¯s head. She then walked towards her base and took out a lead jar, ¡°You can stay here without revealing my position,¡± she put a thick lead plate over it. Projects ¡°Finally you are here,¡± McCro Alexander opened the freshly assembled door, ¡°can you just be a little early before everyone leaves?¡± ¡°Not with this giant suitcase,¡± Tann claimed, ¡°nice door by the way.¡± ¡°Thanks, I bought it,¡± McCro grunted, ¡°so how¡¯s the turret?¡± ¡°Got a few problems,¡± Tann laid the case onto the ground and unlocked it. Loci walked over with magnifying glasses that are attached to his like a pair of goggles. ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!¡± Loci screamed as saw the turret, ¡°HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING SAND?¡± Unlike before, the gun breech was no longer polished, along its surface, billions of scars left by the rotation and firing wore down the paint as well as the metal itself. Thanks to the overheating from firing, some of the rubber washers had melted and gun powder dust diffused into the air through the gun barrels. ¡°HA-CHOOOOO¡± Loci sneezed after the powder enter his nose, so he turned around and picked up a used face mask (Used for soldering), ¡°damn it, all the dust.¡± ¡°What rounds did you use,¡± asked McCro Alexander, he took a can of pressured air and tried to clean away the dust in the chamber and the barrels. ¡°Titanium Core AP shells,¡± replied Tann, and took out one of the shells from her pocket. ¡°You don¡¯t need to bring it here!¡± McCro said, then he turned to talk to Loci, ¡°This might be a problem.¡± ¡°Ummm¡­¡± Loci thought for a while, he walked around the machine in circles, ¡°maybe our rpm setting is a bit too high.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Rosy entered the conversation, ¡°I told you that 6500 shots per minute are too much for the military-grade chambers and barrels.¡± Loci sat down on a tiny chair beside the turret, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the this to happen with just 500 more rounds more than the standard value.¡± He grabbed a screwdriver and opened the chamber¡¯s cover, revealing the inside. ¡°I do agree,¡± Loci sat back after observing the inside, ¡°the rotations are wearing out the breech. However, you do know that the world¡¯s highest fire rate weapon can fire one million bullets at a time.¡± ¡°Good luck getting that much funding,¡± Rosy jeered, ¡°besides, that is just a prototype made by North K?lo?.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it¡­¡± before Loci finish, Tann interrupted suddenly, ¡°Since I¡¯m responsible for breaking it, how about I¡¯ll be in charge of repairing it? Just give me the blueprints and I¡¯ll figure it out?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°No...Actually¡­¡±Loci peeked at Tann, and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll send you the stuff later, and, McCro? Can you get Tann the tray of rubber washers, wait how about let''s try out the stainless steel washers this time?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± McCro went aside to the tools stool. ¡°By the way Tann,¡± Rosy walked close to Tann, ¡°we decided to put you into team B for the turret competition.¡± ¡°Wait what,¡± Tann was caught by a surprise and didn¡¯t know how to respond. At the same time, Loci explained, ¡° Since they lowered the standards so all the university students can join, so I decided that this year¡¯s project will only be the turret competition for all students. We have formed two teams: A & B. Team A will Rosy, I, McCro and Jach, who have¡­¡± ¡°Decided to head home,¡± McCro followed Loci¡¯s sentence, ¡°Team B will be led by a new guy Isaac Hook, since Rosy is already enough for Team A, you¡¯ll be helping them out as the programmer, there are also two other kids named Sheila Terminal and Viscosy Floyd.¡± Tann stepped back nervously, ¡°who are those people?!¡± ¡°Isaac is a smart guy, he has about 40% of my ability,¡± laughed Loci. ¡°But just as annoying,¡± Rosy muttered, ¡°the other few seemed interesting, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be much help.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Tann hit Loci on the head with foam cylinder, ¡°you want me to carry a newbie team?¡± ¡°Please.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Tann take the washers from McCro, ¡°then you better give some mechanical help to my team then.¡± ¡°Okay, okay,¡± Loci repeated while leaving his eyes closed, ¡°but can you follow me for a bit?¡± ¡°So you finally decided to show me that ?¡± Tann asked. ¡°Here we are,¡± Loci unlocked four mechanical locks with four different keys, and dragged open the heavy door that seemed bulletproof, ¡°let me start the light.¡± Loci reached down to an old fashioned power generator that requires a person to manually turn a handle to kick start the petroleum combustion generator. After a few tiring cranks, Loci finally stopped his physical exercise and stood up. By the bee-like buzzing of the generator, the filament lamps connected in series across the ceiling brightened up the room. ¡°I was expecting something more sci-fi,¡± Tann giggled as she noticed the ancient equipment around the room. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all the stuff I can get from the school legally,¡± Loci walked towards the centre of the medium-sized room, ¡°but not all the things are from the school.¡± At the centre with something covered by a big piece of cloth. Instead of revealing the object under it directly, Loci put on a pair of medical gloves and a face mask, and handed another pair to Tann, ¡°Pull these on, just make sure you won¡¯t damage the sensors on the artificial skin.¡± Finally, Loci took a deep breath and pulled away from the cloth. Tann¡¯s eyes widened by what she had seen. At first, it seemed as if a young girl was sleeping on the chair, but on another glance, the rest of her body below her neck were bundles of wires, some transparent, some coloured and some filled with liquid. ¡°She is¡­¡± Tann started, ¡°breathing¡­¡± ¡°Amazing isn¡¯t it?¡± Loci said proudly and pointed at the neck of his creation which vibrates slowly like an actual respiratory organ. ¡°Why¡­¡± Tann walked closer to the creation, ¡°¡­can I touch her?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead,¡± Loci said. Slowly, Tann put her finger on to the face, she pressed down lightly and she could feel the elastic, yet strong and mescal like structure beneath the artificial skin. ¡°Can she feel it?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± claimed Loci, ¡°these super advance artificial skin are like real skin, and it can regenerate by Nano-fluid.¡± ¡°Nano-fluid?¡± Tann looked at Loci curiously. ¡°Ta-Da,¡± Loci walked towards a cylinder hanging on the wall and opened a small valve on it. Suddenly, a thick black liquid poured into his palm. Tann walked closer to the liquid but suddenly something made the hair on the back of her neck stand. The liquid¡¯s unnatural flow pattern looked familiar, too familiar. ¡°These are metallic liquid that can react electrical signal,¡± Loci didn¡¯t notice Tann¡¯s expressions well and continued to explain, ¡°according to the signal, it can shape, colour and even hardness.¡± ¡°Where did you get all this stuff?¡± Tann asked her the most important question. ¡°Ummm¡­¡± Loci studied Tann cautiously, ¡°Can you please give me some time to answer your question?¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Loci gave in, ¡°here is the address. ¡± He took a sticky note on the wall and handed it to Tann. ¡°Thanks,¡± Tann folded the paper in quarters and hid it into her pocket, ¡°so, what¡¯s her name? Mary?¡± ¡°Mary,¡± Loci spoke romantically, ¡°That¡¯s all the artificial skin I could obtain, only if¡­Nevermind that, well, this body is the same as a normal person. She has every human sense on her artificial skin. Her eyes are real¡­human eyes¡­that I bought at that place¡­and I attached the neurons with a high sensitive signal fibre so they should work the same as the real ones¡­¡± ¡°Tell me,¡± Tann asked, ¡°what are you gonna do with her once I program her to act like a random living being?¡± Tann¡¯s question made Loci¡¯s system stop, he looked at her blankly and words finally came out of his thin lips, ¡°I¡­I¡­really don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna date her or something?¡± asked Tann. Loci looked down at the ground, ¡°but I want to be chosen by her free will.¡± ¡°But you are her creator?¡± Tann looked at her watch, 7:50 pm, ¡°Maybe next time.¡± Update ¡°So,¡± Phurder Puler started a display monitor in the middle of the crowded room, ¡°let me explain our job very briefly.¡± He glanced around the nervous faces and looked back at his presentation. ¡°Our first task is very simple, find her location and meet up with her in the simulation,¡± Phurder pointed at a map display of the simulation with Tann¡¯s location marked as a red cross, ¡°her identity is giving off a special signal that will allow us to track her down.¡± ¡°Then,¡± Phuder carried on, ¡°we will use our ¡®Emergency Mirror¡¯ to help her log out. If that doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll try to use as the admin portal to restore her admin rights. If that does work either, we¡¯ll go into the backup plan: we will use the duplication function to make a copy of her mind and then we¡¯ll log out and force disconnect her from the simulation and implant the copied information into her mind again.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that cause a short circuit?¡± a young woman asked, she had the same hairstyle as Tann and was wearing a lab coat similar to Tann¡¯s but it was only an imitated version, ¡°Since you are force disconnecting her from the system.¡± ¡°You are correct,¡± claimed Phurder, ¡°that¡¯s why it is our last resort, but if we put her into an unconscious state inside the simulation, then the chances of a short circuit will be lowered significantly.¡± ¡°Sounds easy to me,¡± a man in military uniform said, ¡°so we are just gonna log in and take her out like what we do with shell shock?¡± ¡°Sounds about right to me,¡± Phurder agreed, ¡°you must be Lieutenant Casio?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me, sir,¡± Casio stood up, closed his foot and saluted, then he relaxed and sat back down, ¡°since I have introduced myself, can I please know who the rest of you are?¡± The Tann-like girl stood up and introduced herself, ¡°I am Secny Inverse, a digital psychologist, just call me Secny.¡± In the corner of the room, a skinny man remained silence throughout introductions, until Phurder pointed at him, ¡°that is Dr Inqua Ranger, the assistance programmer of the CREATORS. You may not know him very since he doesn¡¯t like to appear on camera, but he one of the founding member of the CREATORS team. Wanna say hi Inqua?¡± Inqua raised his hand slightly and waved for about a few centimetres and rested it down quickly. Secny looked at him curiously and took out a digital notebook, ¡°Dr Inqua, may I have your signature, please? I¡¯m trying to get every CREATOR¡¯S signature, I am just missing yours, Dr Cotanian and Dr Tann¡¯s signatures.¡± Inqua looked at Secny coldly and reached for her digital notebook with his boney hand. On the screen, he simply did a horizontal swipe that generated a straight line.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Th¡­thank you¡­¡± Inqua saved her document. ¡°Okay, are you prepared to enter?¡± A cute voice attracted Inqua¡¯s attention like a magnet, it was Cotanian, ¡°we don¡¯t have much time.¡± ¡°Almost,¡± replied Phurder calmly, ¡°still waiting for the psychologist to arrive.¡± ¡°Let me guess,¡± Cotanian grabbed Phurder¡¯s name list, ¡°is it that guy who visited us last year?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Phurder checked the time, ¡°he should be here at any moment.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Cotanian handed the list back to Phurder, ¡°if he doesn¡¯t show up in time, guess we¡¯ll log in just with you guys.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± a muscular man appeared at the entrance, ¡°Dr Cotanian, you seemed unusually nervous like I have seen last time.¡± ¡°Of course I am nervous,¡± Cotanian replied with annoyance, ¡°Dr Angle is in grave danger!¡± The muscular man disabled his digital hat revealing his bald head that looked like a pearl and bowed apologetically, ¡°I do mean in that way Dr Cotanian, but you seem nervous in a different way.¡± ¡°Different?¡± Cotanian¡¯s face reddened, but the surge of blood pressure was quickly reduced by her artificial heart, ¡°You better do your job probably, or we¡¯re just gonna ask another psychologist to take your job.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone to replace me isn¡¯t it?¡± the man laughed, ¡°I am pretty sure you are the one who sent me the invitation letter.¡± ¡°So what?¡± The man ignored Cotanian¡¯s question and turned to the rest of the group, ¡°I am a psychologist who¡¯ll ensure the mental stability of Dr Angle in the simulation and use appropriate psychological tricks to stabiles her identity function. My name is Zeta Sckard, just call me Zeta if you like.¡± ¡°OHH!¡± Secny shouted, ¡°you are that researcher who used traditional psychologist analysis to predict the thoughts of a person?! Even until now, no digital psychologist had surpassed your level of accuracy!¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Zeta grinned with his thick lips, ¡° but I am afraid that my way of study will inevitably fuse with digital psychology technology, that¡¯s why Dr Angle asked me to make suggestions on the ¡®Bot Creator Function¡¯.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Seeing Zeta had got the attention, Cotanian silent sneaked out of the room. ¡°A whole team of anti-terrorist specialists,¡± Inspector Dex Pluscy walked around the abandoned swimming pool, ¡°the Northern Side sure had gone mad in this week.¡± He walked towards the side of the pool that was peppered with billions of shell holes, ¡°what on Earth happened without a single drop of blood, a single bullet case, or even a single bullet.¡± ¡°I am not sure exactly what kind of weapon made such damage but it is probably a weapon with the calibre above 12.5mm which, without any bullet nor casing, my best bet is that it is fired from a 20mm.¡± Candy stood up from and greeted Dex, ¡°Despite all these damages, no blood was found.¡± ¡°Interesting interesting,¡± Dex squat down on the ground and pointed at a strange circle when it seemed whitewashed compared to the other dust-covered areas of ground, ¡°but what I am wondering is: who tried so hard to clean this section of the ground.¡± ¡°You might be right about that,¡± said Candy, ¡°but if it is cleaned by any normal cleaning agent, there should be traces of chemicals left, but here, not even a single atom of that acidic fluid was left.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Dex pulled out a pen and bit it like a cigar, ¡°can you send a few men to check all the arms dealers in the city?¡± ¡°No problem¡­¡± Candy stopped speaking and looked at someone behind Dex. Dex turned around to find a large group of men in white, chemical-proof suites appeared behind him, ¡°Now, who do we have here¡­¡± One of the men walked towards Dex, ¡°Inspector Dex?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°The Governor of Qchong City just passed the case to us,¡± the man presented a transcript covered with golden words, ¡°to allow us to fully commit to our investigation, I want you and your crew to be leaving the site at once, and no further investigation of this matter is allowed.¡± Candy watched as Dex attempted to argue but resulted in nothing, ¡°Candy, we¡¯re out, tell the rest to head to base.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°God damn North K?lo? is taking over the investigation!¡± Dex said angrily. ¡°Are you serious?!¡± Candy laughed, ¡°North K?lo??! I only know that they are trying to massacre the working class, not us?¡± ¡°Hurry up,¡± Dex¡¯s emotions were as hard as stone, ¡°we gotta head out.¡± Evolving CAST relaxed on the grassland. It chewed upon the nearby grass and barked, ¡°that¡¯s the second Type A(II) gone.¡± It narrowed its tiny eyes and restored the visual recording of the Hetzer, ¡°interesting, her ability to change the program proved to be still quite effective against the Hetzers.¡± ¡°Yikes,¡± CAST laid on its back (that¡¯s a new word from researching the simulation language program), ¡°guess I should tell them to stop the frontal approach¡­Or maybe, I need to adjust the design slightly to prevent falling into that same trap again.¡± In CAST¡¯s field of vision, a virtual display of a 3D model of the Hetzer appeared, ¡°since she is using some specials, I¡¯ll need to pull out a trick or two, but actually¡­¡± Suddenly and strange thought went across its brain that made the sheep stopped its chewing motion, ¡°¡­actually¡­there is no way, what was I thinking?!¡± ¡°Want a smoke,¡± Candy and Dex sat in the open training yard in the police office, Candy took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Dex, ¡°still pissed about the North K?lo? boys?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Dex replied and took the cigarette from Candy, ¡°the more they hide from me the more curious I am in that case.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ll say that,¡± Candy laughed, ¡°stop trying to be a comic book character.¡± Dex didn¡¯t reply, instead, he bites onto the cigarette and chewed its butt slowly yet strongly. Candy looked at Dex with a smile across his face. After a bit, seeing Dex¡¯s expressions hadn¡¯t changed at all, Candy reached into his chest pocket and took out a small glass tube with a plastic cap, ¡°Actually, I have an explanation of why we are kicked out.¡± Dex turned to Candy and grabbed the tube from him, ¡°what¡¯s this?¡±. Inside the tube was a thick dark liquid that appeared to be extremely viscous. Dex turned the tube upside-down and observed as the liquid flowed slowly against the tube¡¯s wall. ¡°Here put this near the tube,¡± Candy handed Dex a bar magnet. To Dex¡¯s amazement as the edge of the magnet approached the fluid, the fluid¡¯s motion changed rapidly, it started to experience unknown turbulence from within and some parts of the fluid started to vaporize forming a dark cloud inside the tube. ¡°What is this?¡± Dex asked. ¡°Well,¡± Candy stretched out his arms, ¡°based on my friends who work in the Chemistry industry, they are saying that currently, North K?lo? is trying to create a type of electrical/magnetic sensitive material called the Nano-fluid. This type of liquid can be controlled by electrical signals to change its shape, density, hardness, or do other amazing tricks that will be very useful in repairing vehicles on the battlefield. Especially the new battle droids.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°So they are gonna feel those machines with this kind of liquid metal?¡± asked Dex. ¡° I have no idea,¡± Candy said honestly, ¡°I first thought this is some kind of weird projects that people will give up eventually but after seeing it with my own eyes. I guess it may be true in the end.¡± ¡°Where did you find this?¡± Dex passed the tube back to Candy, ¡°I didn¡¯t see any on the site.¡± Candy took out his phone and presented a picture to Dex, ¡°here take a look.¡± Dex studied the picture and looked up to the sky and thought for a moment, ¡°inside the bullet holes¡­Ummm¡­that means it is the bullet that blasted this material off something¡­¡± ¡°I think this may be just North K?lo? secret,¡± Candy stood up, ¡°If I were you, I¡¯ll focus the serial killer case instead of getting dragged into this one.¡± ¡°I guess you might be right,¡± Dex finally took out his lighter¡ªa small pistol-shaped lighter, and light his cigarette, ¡°but I¡¯ll need to confirm one thing.¡± A new location, a new room, Tann¡¯s equipment were placed neatly around the room, the turret was fixed with the new aluminium washers placed in. Beep¡­Bzzzz¡­ The homemade lock opened and Tann entered with a plastic bag. She took out a paper box and placed beside the lead container on the table, ¡°took me a long while to find this.¡± She checked the turret, making sure that it was loaded and ready to fire any time and then sat in front of the half-broken plastic table. ¡°Just making sure,¡± she said to herself as she wore a thick metal mask over her face and opened the paper box. Inside, there was a video recorder. Then she unlocked the lead container a took out the Hetzer¡¯s video recorder that looked identical to the one she bought. ¡°Stay there and don¡¯t move,¡± she told the Hetzer¡¯s part and took out her keyboard. System:__Request_F(item_serial_check)_01 System:__Item_A:_{Electric}_{Recording_Device_046661#}_ System:__Item_B:_{Electric}_{Recording_Device_046661#}_ ¡°Damn you,¡± Tann cried slammed her fist on the table, ¡°fine, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± She replaced her keyboard with an electric screwdriver and unscrewed both recorders. Inside the ¡®normal¡¯ recorder, all the wires and electronic components arranged neatly and zip-tied. On the other hand, the Hetzer¡¯s version, the inside was empty with a thick dark coat of metal on the inner walls. Tann used a small tweezer to scrub the substances off the walls and placed them onto a dish connected to a power supply. Before starting the power, she placed a glass cover on top of the dish. As Tann turned on the power, the substances started to ¡®melt¡¯ and formed a dark substance that flowed rapidly. ¡°Just as I thought,¡± Tann recorded her findings, she picked up the empty video recorder again and placed it closer to the charged metal plate. No reaction, the liquid remained in its random flow pattern. ¡°Huh?¡± Tann was surprised, ¡°didn¡¯t expect this to happen. I thought the substance will try to re-merge and its original structure. Okay then, let me test this other thing out then.¡± Tann moved compass across the table put it next to the plate. As soon as the compass came close to the plate, the needle started to rotate like an aircraft propeller. ¡°Interesting,¡± Tann recorded her findings again, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect a direct current to produce an alternating field. That means these substances can transfer DC into AC.¡± Tann watched the compass spin for a short while and decided to switch off the power supply. Click! The compass remained spinning and the substances remained liquid-like. Tann raised an eyebrow, ¡°It can store charge? Good, now I have more data on this.¡± She removed the glass cover to put the substances back to the lead container. Flop! Unexpectedly, the substance launched itself towards Tann¡¯s hand. Before Tann could react, the substance fully covered her hand and started to corrode her skin like strong acid, ¡°Ahhggggh!¡± Tann swung her hand violently in the air, but the substance started to spread along her arm towards her shoulder. BAM! Reflection Tann kicked what used to be her arm across the room. As it rolled across the floor, blood spelt through the uneven cut made by the shotgun blast. Using her other arm, Tann tossed the shotgun up and grabbed the pump, then she brought down the weapon to her knee which allowed her to load another shot with only one arm. BAM! Multiple holes opened across the disconnected arm. As Tann prepared to load the next round, the dark substances fully consumed the arm, and with a faint fizzing noise, the arm decomposed into a pile of dust. ¡°Damn you,¡± Tann sat down and put down her weapon to hold onto her wound, ¡°you still have consciousness even being separated with the main body structure!?¡± Her breathing calmed slowly as new bone and tissue structure started to develop from her wound, forming a new arm. ¡°That¡¯s 30% damage,¡± Tann muttered and moved her newly grown arm, ¡°just 40% more and I¡¯d be dead.¡± With caution, she moved to the remains of the substance and poked it with a long plastic rod, ¡°Well, guess it is finally dormant by now.¡± However, Tann¡¯s examination didn¡¯t end there: by tying a lighter to the rod with strings, she attempted to light the dust on fire. Suddenly a huge flame appeared. ¡°Hang on¡­¡± Within a millisecond, Tann noticed something was wrong: the flame was white-coloured. A second late, nothing was left on the ground. Tann¡¯s emotions remained shocked and she moved back to her desk and wrote down her new findings: Originally, the dark substances are inflammable at temperatures below 40 degrees but after consuming my arm, the end product proved to be extremely flammable.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Today, hundreds of protesters gather outside Qchong University¡¯s Observatory,¡± the newsman reported, showing the scene of the protest. The protesters dressed in pure black or pure white uniforms and carried all sorts of religious symbols. ¡°The protesters demanded the Observatory staff to explain the recent astronomical phenomenon that caused strange star position around Earth.¡± Despite all the protester¡¯s efforts, the front door towards the observatory remained firmly shut. ¡°The Observatory members had made no live appearances and from their online statement, released an hour ago, claiming that they are still going through complex calculations to determine certain theories.¡± About a meter away from the Observatory¡¯s door, a row of armoured police officers fenced the protesters from breaking to the door. ¡°The police department announced that all protesters should leave the scene by exactly 4:30 pm or arrests will take place. That¡¯s it for all the latest updates on the Qchong protest situation.¡± Despite his large size, Candy entered the exhibit room without a sound. To his surprise, he realized that the lights were on, ¡°I¡¯m am sure getting old, leaving the lights¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s me Candy,¡± Dey appeared from behind of a stack of exhibits, ¡°Just checking on some of the materials collected from the crash site.¡± Candy held a hand to his heart, ¡°Gosh, you almost gave the old man a heart attack.¡± ¡°45 is not that old,¡± smiled Dey, ¡°and what¡¯s better is that the age of retirement had been extended to 65 instead of 60, so you have 5 more years to enjoy your job.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, you are just like your big brother,¡± Candy grabbed over a chair and sat down heavily, ¡°well, got what you wanted?¡± Dey took out a few pages of the printed report, and showed it to Candy, ¡°Since last time we spoke, did you manage to discover the real problem with the engine? After visiting the maintenance squad, they claimed that the helicopter, SA103, was brand new, bought last month from North K?lo? Qchong and they just fully examined the engine compartment and did a few test flights a week ago¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s very correct,¡± Candy pointed at the report, ¡° the SA103 was claimed to be the best civilian helicopter with a breakdown possibility of 0.000001% and there had never been a crash that is due to the helicopter itself. However, you must be aware that accidents do happen.¡± Dey nodded, ¡°I agree that there may be unexpected things, but where exactly was the engine broken? You said in the report that it was to do with the tail control mechanics but you didn¡¯t specify the exact part.¡± Candy leaned back and looked at the girl with curiosity, ¡°Huh, so you refuse to believe that this is an accident?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Dey, ¡°I need all evidence to be 100% clear before making my final judgment.¡± ¡°Let me tell you this,¡± Candy interrupted and stood up, ¡° I didn¡¯t have a chance to open the engine myself, but North K?lo? requested to examine their product since they are better experts in their products.¡± ¡°When will they give me the data?¡± Dey asked cautiously and took out a pen to record the date. Candy took a long breath, ¡°within two to three weeks.¡± ¡°Thank you, Candy.¡± A(II) As Stan unpacked a new crate that was filled with old fashioned hunting carbines, the outline of a new customer caught his attention, ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡± ¡°How¡¯s going, Stan?¡± Dex appeared in front of Stan. Unlike usual, Dex was dressed in a t-shirt with the word ¡®swag¡¯ painted on it and a pair of shorts with a few ripped holes. ¡°Nice costumes as always,¡± Stan moved to Dex with an unwrapped carbine, ¡°so, what are you here for? New non-official weapons for your hero play? However, don¡¯t expect me to sale one of those bear traps, I don¡¯t want any more of that trouble again.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not here for that,¡± Dex laughed nervously, and glancing around to make sure that no one is overhearing their conversation, ¡°that time was really out of expectation. I didn¡¯t expect that the guy would trip and get landed his head in the trap¡­¡± Annoyedly, Stan swung the carbine a few inches away from Dex nose, ¡°thank you very much for that, now I have forbidden to sale any more body traps for hunting.¡± Dex stepped back a bit, ¡°Well, I¡¯m just here to ask a question.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Have you been selling heavy calibre machine gun ammo recently?¡± asked Dex. Stan looked curiously at Dex, ¡°Why do you ask? Is your sister involved in that project too?¡± ¡°What project?¡± Dex asked back. Stan turned around and walked back to his counter, then he came back with a tablet and list, ¡°See here, look at how many purchases of 20mm+ calibre ammo belts are made this month.¡± Dex looked over the list and compared the number of belts purchased as well as the purchase dates, ¡°this is very unusual isn¡¯t it, I am pretty sure the world is at peace now.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± replied Stan, ¡°but there is this project hosted by North K?lo? where kids at universities have to make some killing automated turrets and my store is getting crowded with kids every week.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Really?¡± Dex gave the list back to Stan, ¡°Do you know when they will usually show up?¡± ¡°I seriously don¡¯t know,¡± Stan rubbed his chin, ¡°it depends how much they want to test fire.¡± It was already midnight, but Tann¡¯s awareness was at maximum (thanks to all the energy drinks). She had her trust NOVA on her back, her revolver in the holder on her waist and her new CZ75 auto pistol in her hand. Yet, on her other hand, she held a compass. No matter how much time had passed, she remained crouched in the dark corner waiting for her prey/hunter to show up. ¡°Not tonight?¡± Tann looked down at her compass quickly: the needle was still stationary. She looked back at the broken window which fenced the night outside. ¡°Come on,¡± Tann moved a little to feel more comfortable, ¡°I hate waiting.¡± Suddenly, she felt a tiny vibration in her hand, so she looked down and realised that the needle was spinning rapidly, ¡°Nice¡­¡± She threw the compass aside and grabbed her keyboard to activate all the ¡®gravity traps around the room. The wait continued. ¡°Just attack already,¡± Tann muttered while making sure that every entrance of the abandoned room was covered with a sufficient number of traps. CLINK! Something flew into the room through the window and stuck to a wall. Tann quickly focused her gaze at it. The object has a smooth and flat surface and it appeared to be a piece of a shattered mirror. ¡°Hang on¡­¡± Just as Tann saw her reflection in the mirror, she realised there is something wrong. She reached out towards the mirror and she could see a strange spectrum of light being reflected off the mirror as well. Yet, the next second she realised something even stranger: something is slowly appearing behind her inside the reflection. Instead of turning around to check, Tann dived forwards and did a front roll. Just as her a body reaches the ground, a deadly breeze passed above her and a new mirror pierced and stuck to the opposite wall. Tann quickly got up from the ground and blasted her CZ fiercely. However, she soon realised that she was shooting in the air. CLINK! CLINK! Two more mirrors appeared around the room, one stuck in the ceiling and one poking out from the ground. ¡°What the heck?!¡¯ Tann quickly noticed a dark shadow behind her in one of the mirrors, instead of shooting behind with her pistol, she swapped to her shotgun and blasted the mirror to bits. Finally, the sense of a being behind her was gone, but facing her, the Hetzer slowly appeared out of nowhere. Unlike its previous brothers, this one had a gigantic spherical head compared to its skinny body constructed of reflective metal blades and it doesn¡¯t have the black and fluid-like substances surrounding its body. ¡°You are a new version?¡± Tann asked and signalled her ace in the sleeve. With a quick pre-fire rotation, the turret opened fire, covering the room with the lead. However, the Hetzer seemed to vanish into thin air. Tann paused the firing, and the Hetzer reappeared in front of her. Through the glass openings on its head, the Hetzer blasted a terrifying shriek what made Tann¡¯s ears bleed. Before Tann can recover, it launched two of its blade mirrors at her which sliced through her arms and stuck into the walls behind her. Then the Hetzer dashed at Tann, who with great pain still managed to fire back with her revolver, but the just before the bullet made contact, the Hetzer disappeared and reflected behind her. With a desperate attempt, Tann signalled the turret to change its target from the Hetzer to the mirrors. Braaaaaaaaa! The mirrors turned into tiny fragments and scattered the floor, but the Hetzer¡¯s teleportation appeared to be more frequent, now, it could be at any place at any time. ¡°NO!¡± Tann cried as she rushed towards a plain wall, at the same time, the turret¡¯s shots removed the wall for her. Without hesitation, Tann jumped out just as a few more blades flew past her, leaving a few long cuts on her body. SPLASH! Tann landed in the artificial river which was filled with water. Right before losing consciousness, she looked back and saw the creature staring at her through the hole she made on the building, then, she started sinking. Filters ¡°Goddamnit,¡± McCro Alexander finished tiding the workbenches and looked at the digital clock that was nailed to the wall by a rivet, ¡°she is late again.¡± Forcefully he swept the screws off the table into a collection rail on the inner edge of the table which the conveyor belt transported them into a bucket on the ground. ¡°There she is!¡± the automatic door swung open and the figure of Tann finally appeared. However, life and energy seemed to have evaporated from her sleepy eyes. She laid down heavily onto a clear workbench. Rosy ran over and investigated, ¡°Are you alright?! You seemed drunk!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­fine¡­¡± Rosy moved her face closer to Tann¡¯s body and sniffed, ¡°Did you just bought these clothes?¡± ¡°How did you¡­¡± Tann pushed herself up from the workbench, ¡°are you a detective or something?¡± Rosy back down folding her arms in front of her chest, ¡°Mate, I visited a clothing factory before and I know exactly what chemicals they use to clean the products before sending them to the stores. Anyways, why are you late?¡± Tann looked around the room and noticed something unusual, ¡°Fell into the river while I am walking and I needed to buy these new clothes, but what is that on the board?¡± Tann¡¯s state caught Loci¡¯s attention, ¡°you mean the blueprint, McCro, tell her what happened.¡± Hesitating McCro opened a tab on his tablet which showed a video clip featuring Loci, ¡°Well, about a months ago, we decided to film this video for the club¡¯s propaganda but accidentally, the turret was filmed in as well, which at the moment, some other teams across the other universities had stolen our minigun design and some of them even went ahead by installing a quad minigun platform¡­¡± ¡°So!¡± Loci cut in, ¡°I came up with this! Who cares about miniguns, I¡¯m building a railgun! Oh, that¡¯s my team¡¯s idea, your team¡­well that guy said you¡¯ll building a chemical thrower, good luck with that.¡± Tann secretly copied down Loci¡¯s blueprint, ¡°Oh, forgot I am in Team B. By the way, I want to ask if you guys have one thing¡­¡± ¡°Before that,¡± Rosy stared down at Tann, ¡°tell me, where is the old turret right now?¡± As Tann struggled to respond, Loci helped out, ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t want to see that thing again, hurts my eyes.¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Rosy said annoyedly, ¡°We spend literally a whole summer on that, and now you even reject the sight of it?!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°¡­¡± Loci turned his back to Rosy and looked down at the ground. ¡°Ivy, what do you want?¡± Rosy shifted her focus back to Tann. ¡°Ummmm¡­Oh!¡± Tann who was still not used to be called by her simulation name, searched for her treasure with her eyes, ¡°do you guys happen to have polarising filters?¡± ¡°Polarising filters?¡± McCro looked up from his cleaning duty, ¡°What do you need them for? Rosy, I think we might some leftover from the laser gun?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Rosy replied, ¡°I returned them to the Physics Research Centre. Ivy, wanna come with me?¡± ¡°Sure thanks,¡± Tann followed Rosy out of the room. The two walked in silence, with Tann directly behind Rosy, but suddenly Rosy stopped almost causing Tann to ram into her back, ¡°Say, how did you know that glitch which allowed the program to be much more straight forward.¡± ¡°Ummm¡­studying I suppose¡­¡± Rosy shook her head, ¡°Like hell, I am gonna believe, I have searched every website, every hard copy resource and asked every computer scientist in this university and no one seemed to know that trick.¡± ¡°Ehhh¡­¡± Rosy continued her walk, but she stopped once again as she heard no answer from Tann, ¡°Hello? You there?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Tann faced Rosy¡¯s suspicious stare, ¡°I once met this hacker, he passed away last year in case if you are curious, and he told me this trick.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Rosy sighed, ¡°and hackers never reveal their real names isn¡¯t it. Fine, one day I¡¯ll sure get the secret that you are hiding. This way, that room ahead is the Physics Research Centre.¡± The entrance to the Physic Research Centre was a pair of steel curtains which were controlled by a motor located on the top. Rosy took out a badge like an object and swiped against a scanner. Brrrrrrr¡­. The curtains slowly lifted, allowing Tann to peek inside, unlike its modest entrance, the inside of the lab was stunning: the lab had a similar shape as a colosseum, with descending rings of the workspace that housed different research groups surrounding a huge circular particle accelerator in the middle. ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Rosy led the way down the rings. ¡°I can tell,¡± Tann replied quietly, ¡°where are all the researchers?¡± ¡°Not sure,¡± Rosy noticed the absence of researchers as well, ¡°I think they are having one of the briefings about funding. There, that¡¯s where all the optical materials are housed.¡± Rosy pointed at a small door located on the side of the bottom ring. ¡°Now, you want polarising filters, right?¡± Rosy turned on the lighting, which revealed the gigantic storage shelves that are filled with containers or materials. Rosy took out her phone and opened a shot-list that gives the serial number of each material, ¡°Hmm¡­number¡­#4001¡­¡± She walked to the first shelve and entered the serial code on a digital pad. A series of machinery sounds sounded from the depth of the shelves, as the robotic arm on the correct shelve manoeuvred to the correct position and grabbed the item requested. After a few minutes, a small box-like robot appeared from the dense forest of shelves, inside its container, was a roll of plastic films. ¡°Is that what you wanted?¡± Rosy took out the films and unwrapped it, revealing the individual sheets of semi-transparent films. ¡°Thank you,¡± Tann nodded, ¡°how many can I have?¡± ¡°How many do you want?¡± ¡°Can I take all?¡± Tann asked curiously, ¡°just asking.¡± Rosy counted the film sheets one by one, ¡°alright I should have trusted the digital numbering, but here are 40 of these 2 by 2 meters filters, but seriously, what are you using these films for, don¡¯t tell me you want to use them as curtains in your room, that¡¯s just a huge waste.¡± ¡°Just some random project to record the solar activity,¡± Tann thought hard for an excuse, ¡°you know, even the astrophysicist is panicking about the star movements in space¡­Yea, I just need these to look at some bright objects¡­¡± Rosy shook her head and took out a rubber band tie her short pink hair together into a bundle, ¡°Alright, I guess you just want all of it, but if possible, once you are done using, give them back to me so I can return to the centre.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Tann smiled and took the films from Rosy¡¯s hands, ¡°let¡¯s get going then.¡± After pressing a ¡®received¡¯ button on the robot, Rosy sent the robot back into the shelves. Carefully, she made sure that everything was back to their original places and shut the gate to the research lab. ¡°Are you going back to your apartment?¡± asked Rosy, ¡°I never see you at the student dorms.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Tann replied, ¡°I rent a separate house outside the university.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool,¡± Rosy followed Tann closely, ¡°guess you are super rich then.¡± ¡°Nah¡­¡± Tann looked around nervously, Qchong University is surprisingly quiet at night, ¡°Shall we call it a day today? Aren¡¯t you heading back to the dorms?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Rosy walked even closer to Tann, ¡°I have to go to the city to get some supplies.¡± Under her breath, Tann muttered, ¡°Damn it.¡± Begone The high-efficiency solar-powered street lamps light the roads as if it was still morning. In the brightness, Tann uncomfortably glanced at Rosy who was ahead, ¡°When is she gonna leave me alone?¡± The two left the gate of the main campus and headed towards the shopping district where the light intensity was about ten times than those of street lamps. From afar, the shopping district seemed to be a drip of juice from the core of the sun. ¡°That is the Qchong Centre,¡± Rosy pointed at a building that was hardly visible by the blinding spotlights. Tann tried to look at it but she turned away by the sharp light, ¡°Ouch! It is so damn bright.¡± ¡°I know,¡± said Rosy, ¡°that is because that the power source of the shopping district is from a separate power plant.¡± ¡°Why a separate one?¡± Tann adjusted her brightness intake constant secretly by pressing on the keyboard in her bag, ¡°I thought all of the Qchong city uses the North K?lo?¡¯s hydroelectric plant?¡± Rosy shook her head, ¡°That¡¯s true for most parts of the city, but for some unknown reason, when the shopping district was built, Eshort Marksman decided to build the world¡¯s first nuclear fusion plant there.¡± ¡°Who is Eshort Marksman?¡± Tann asked. Rosy stopped and stared at Tann, ¡°I thought you live in the city, how can you not heard of him, he is the CEO of North K?lo?! He built half the city as well as our university.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Tann looked away from Rosy, ¡°I suppose¡­I am just interested in other things.¡± Out of Tann¡¯s expectations, Rosy grabbed Tann around the neck and allowing the distance between their heads to be at a minimum. Tann instantly reached for her auto pistol, but her arm hit Rosy¡¯s breast, ¡°OUCH! No need to punch me there you perv!¡± ¡°You are the first to grab me!¡± Tann cried back. ¡°I¡¯m just being friendly,¡± claimed Rosy, at this point, both girls were blushing, ¡°I just wanna know more about you since you are new to the city.¡± Tann hit her forehead, ¡°You are just so annoying. Why do you want to know where I came from, where I live, where I learnt how to code¡­Don¡¯t tell me you want to hit on me, don¡¯t you already have Loci?¡± ¡°Loci?¡± Rosy blushed even more, but this time due to anger, ¡°I am more like that guy¡¯s mother!! Besides, I am not even interested in guys!¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Same¡­¡± ¡°HANG ON?!¡± Rosy cried in joy. ¡°What a pain,¡± Tann drunk a whole can of Red Bull in one take, ¡°that girl¡­¡± Then, she checked if the roll of polarising filters was still tied onto to her back, ¡°Good, I¡¯ll have to finish off that thing first.¡± Tann took out her city map and searched for her current location, ¡°I am now at¡­Section D¡­no¡­Section F, yea, besides the station ¡®Prince David¡¯.¡± She looked up to confirm that the huge subway logo ¡®Prince David¡¯ was still in front of her, ¡°Where should I go tho? I don¡¯t even know how that Hetzer can track me¡­So I am probably safer at places with fewer bots since any of them might turn¡­but actually¡­¡± Tann looked around the bots/people working around her, minding their businesses, ¡°Maybe¡­that means the Hetzers don¡¯t want to be discovered by other bots too¡­No this is too much of a risk, I must hurry.¡± Staring down at her compass, Tann sneaked across the buildings, not necessarily sneak since every spot in the main city area was light by high power lights. Finally, she reached the edge of the city, which was marked by a metal net, where the other side was eternal darkness. ¡°Still needs a lot of work CREATORS,¡± Tann muttered to herself, ¡°if I get out one day, I¡¯ll tell Cine to lower the light intensity, gosh, my eyes are taking damage.¡± All damages recovered. Tann adjusted her visibility, allowing her to see in the dark (by changing the colour scheme of her field of vision to green), ¡°This is a pretty good spot.¡±. She discovered large tunnel (basically an abandoned water pipe) with a diameter of about two regular adults, ¡°but I can¡¯t run anywhere if the plan doesn¡¯t work.¡± However, after another 20 minutes of searching, she gave up and went into the tunnel. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡± She took out her keyboard and expanded a polarising filter. Then she used several bits of filters to completely seal off the entrance of the tunnel as well as the other end. She sat down beside the filter and typed onto her keyboard: System:Check__Polarising_Filters_spacing_:_2_nm_// ¡°Ummm,¡± Tann calculated, ¡°that¡¯s not enough damage.¡± System: F(spacing)_1_mm As a result of the change, the filter turned extremely dark, literally no light could pass through. ¡°Damn it,¡± Tann cried, ¡°why can¡¯t you just work.¡± Syetem:F(transparency)_100%_01_// The filters became even more transparent than before. Tann said pleasingly, ¡°Now that¡¯s better. Just need to wait for that bastard to show up¡­¡±. The timing was just right, the needle on the compass started to go crazy again. Tann grabbed her pistol despite knowing that it has little use, a wore a pair of steel chainmail gloves that she bought recently, ¡°Come on! You have all the advantages here!¡± The vibration of the needle remained constant but nothing special could be seen outside the tunnel. Bzzzzzzzzzz ¡°What is this noise?¡± Tann searched for the source of the ear-piercing sawing sound, ¡°Oh no!¡±. She looked up, yes, something was above her, and it wanted to get inside. ¡°Does it know already?!¡± Tann cried and started to walk away from the source of the sound, ¡°what should I do!?¡± CLINK! A large piece of flat mirror shot down from the sawed through the tunnel ceiling, like last time, it stuck into the ground below. However, Tann jumped towards like a tiger and ripped it out off floor with all her strength and pointed the mirror at an angle towards the opening made by the Hetzer. Slowly, something started to appear outside the tunnel but at the same time, items started to appear from the inside of the tunnel, right beside the former polarizing filter. Clank! Clank! Clank! Oddly shaped metal discs formed out of nowhere and dropped to the floor, a few electric sparks were generated around them, but soon, they became motionless. ¡°Is that all of you?¡± Tann threw the mirror to the round and pointed her pistol at the pile of metal plates. BAM!BAM!BAM! The uncontrolled burst of bullets sprayed everywhere. Despite Tann¡¯s poor accuracy, 2 out of 12 bullets still found their targets and went straight threw the plates, scattering them into smaller pieces. ¡°Phewww,¡± Tann wiped the sweat from her face and approached the remains of the Hetzer, ¡°never expect you to come from above but at least you still end up going through the filter. I know you somehow have wave-like behaviour so normal firearms and powers can¡¯t do you any harm but you are probably the most vulnerable when you are transporting in your waveform, which, I am pretty sure you are in unpolarized form. So, the good news is, a polarizing filter is just like a cheese shredder for you.¡± Tann removed the filters and packed them back into a roll, ¡°anyway, thanks for coming so early, now I can get a good night of sleep, finally.¡± Secondary Entrance The inside of the CORE was never as crowded as now. Not only the whole rescue team was present but there were also a few transparent containers that were recently transported in. Secny Inverse turned her eyes from side to side, like a child taking her first tour in a museum, ¡°Wow, the CORE sure is an amazing place.¡± ¡°Shhh!¡± Casio dragged Secny back before she ran off to take pictures in the CORE, and pointed at Phurder Puler who was talking with Cotanian and Bino Distry ¡°They are almost ready.¡± Phurder noticed Casio and broke off his conversation, ¡°Sorry, they still need a bit of time to set up the carriers.¡± ¡°See?!¡± Secny shook off Casio annoyedly, ¡°I still have plenty of time to look around.¡± ¡°Dr Secny,¡± Zeta stopped Secny from wondering off again, ¡°do you want to know more about how Dr Tann created the simulation?¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Secny¡¯s attention was quickly dragged away from the CORE, ¡°Now I remember, you said you worked with her on society models.¡± ¡°Very true,¡± replied Zeta, ¡°to be honest, I only gave her suggestions instead of taking things into my own hands¡­¡± ¡°Well,¡± Secny wasn¡¯t a patient person at all, ¡°what exactly do you suggest her?¡± ¡°Let me ask you,¡± Zeta looked at Secny as well as Casio who was also listening closely, ¡°what do you think that creates your personality?¡± ¡°I suppose on a biological level, it is the hormone concentrations or glands activity,¡± said Secny, ¡°but, I suppose societal values and experiences may also affect considerably.¡± Casio nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes,¡± replied Zeta, ¡°the problem is that, in a realistic society, there should be all sorts of personalities, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes, you are,¡± said Casio who grabbed a chair for Dr Zeta to seat down. ¡°Thank you,¡± Dr Zeta looked up at army medic, ¡°So Dr Tann¡¯s problem is that: it is impossible to create all the personalities in existence, and of course, when the simulation starts, what should be the different portions of personalities?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What do you mean portions?¡± Dr Zeta produced a virtual display of a coloured circle using his watch, ¡°For example, some personalities tend to affect other personalities, like the red coloured regions. As you said before, a person¡¯s personality may be altered by outside values, thus, if I allow the colours to mix for a bit¡­¡± The red region started to spread. ¡°That¡¯s what I call a Radical Society,¡± Zeta said as red had conquered the display, ¡°however the ¡®radical¡¯ here doesn¡¯t just include ¡®the radical personality¡¯ it may be any dominant forms of personality.¡± ¡°I have a question,¡± Secny asked, ¡°but isn¡¯t Radical Society realistic too? I mean we have had the Great Revolution, the Lowly Period in the past, then why do Dr Tann what to avoid modelling such a society?¡± ¡°You are correct,¡± Zeta agreed, but carried on his point, ¡°but like lab Petri dishes, they simply cannot have all the simulation societies turn into a Radical Society instantly, the societies must be maintained at a stable form for each experiment.¡± ¡°That¡¯s much annoying then,¡± Secny said, ¡°do that also mean each simulation world will also have an expiration day?¡± ¡°You are very smart,¡± Zeta complimented, ¡°that trouble Dr Tann and her team a lot as they don¡¯t know how to create a world that can maintain mental stability for long periods. That is when they called upon me¡­¡± ¡°What was your suggestion, sir?¡± Casio asked eagerly. ¡°Basically,¡± Zeta displayed a new pie chart that showed each type of personality as a percentage, ¡°From my sample in our real world, I had some data to indicate a portion of each personality. However, more importantly, each personality can be broken down into even smaller ¡®sub-personalities¡¯ and I gave my findings to Dr Tann.¡± ¡°and what was the result?¡± ¡°She created a bot creation system where,¡± Zeta switched off his display, ¡°each sub-personality was given a certain probability. So, whenever a new bot is to be created, it will have random sub-personalities generated by an algorithm. Also, the system will constantly check the general trend of personalities in the simulation world so that the probability of generating each sub-personality can be altered to produce new bots with personalities that can balance out the trend.¡± ¡°Sounds very intelligent,¡± claimed Casio, ¡°but won¡¯t that ¡­¡± ¡°You do know that the simulation is still under development, right?¡± Secny snapped, ¡°That¡¯s why we are here trying to save Dr Tann.¡± On the other side of the CORE, Phurder and the rest of the CREATORS gathered together to discuss the final plans of the mission, ¡°Cotanian, talk me through the whole login process again.¡± Annoyedly, Cotanian read off her digital notepad again, ¡°Fine, try to remember this time, first, since there is only one functioning log in ¡®mirror¡¯ each of you will go by the other of you, Secney, Casio, Zeta and finally Inqua. So after you log in, and we can establish communication with you in the simulation, we¡¯ll move your actual body into one of those modified hibernation cells, and then the next person can log in.¡± ¡°Great,¡± replied Phurder and turned to Bino Distry, ¡°Do we currently have a rough idea of where exactly is Tann?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± replied Bino, ¡°we lost all traces of her since last night, and there were a few glitches¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean glitches,¡± Cine spoke up suddenly. ¡°Well,¡± Bino showed a few screenshots, ¡°as you can see, at midnight, she is at that location, but thirty minutes after, there is a new position indicator that had the same configuration as Tann appeared at a spot nearly half a planet away. Guess what, another hour later, both spots disappeared entirely.¡± ¡°Is that a problem with the map?¡± Cine gazed at Bino¡¯s screenshots, ¡°I thought we fixed it last December.¡± ¡°Who knows,¡± Cotanian argued, ¡°we don¡¯t have time for this.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Phurder said with concern, ¡°if we don¡¯t know where she is, then how do we know where to log in?¡± ¡°Use your brain,¡± Cotanian turned a blind eye at Phurder, ¡°First, you can always use the teleportation function to travel great distances, or maybe, you can just set up ¡®beacons¡¯ so she¡¯ll know you guys have arrived?!¡± ¡°That sounds reasonable,¡± Bino agreed, ¡°in that case, should we start the login?¡± Research ¡°How is this possible? We had tested it for over two thousand times!¡± ¡°Do you think it is the Leopard stole our findings and developed this?¡± ¡°No way, who do they think they are, testing out something stolen right under our noses.¡± ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, the CEO will be entering within ten seconds.¡± The airtight seal gate unlocked its layers of locks a layer at a time, and the sterilizing agent started to spray from the door frame as the gate lifted slowly, creating a huge white mist. The researchers in their pink coloured lab-coats held their breaths. Cough! Cough! Cough! A man stumbled through the smoke coughing, but just before he was about to fall to his knees, a few agents in purple suits appeared from behind and dragged him back. ¡°That¡¯s close,¡± the man drew out a long pipe from his comical pink, rubber coat. ¡°Sir,¡± a woman who was about a third taller than the man appeared from behind, holding a pile of folders in her hands, ¡°I suggest this to be your last dose today.¡± ¡°Why,¡± the man snapped, but he withdrew his pipe into his pocket, ¡°fine, fine, I get it, I¡¯ll save it to tonight.¡± Then he turned to the researchers and complained, ¡°gosh, it is not like I am from a virus-infested slum, next time I want none of that gas in my face when I enter this fucking room.¡± ¡°Sir,¡± the woman corrected the man, ¡°it is you who ordered the usage of KD101 to be sprayed at any person entering the Class F research labs since the TOKO incident.¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± the man replied, ¡°fine, ignore what I said. God, at this rate, I¡¯ll be soon needing an artificial lung.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. By putting her documents onto a desk the woman took out her phone and checked, ¡°currently we have around 400 artificial lungs in ready conditions, should I register the medical team¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± the man replied and punched his chest, ¡°I am fine with what I have right now. Just remember the medical people to leave a spare one and they can sell the rest.¡± ¡°Affirmative.¡± The man turned his attention to the researchers and pointed at some equipment placed at the far end of the room, ¡°So, what is happening?¡± ¡°Mr Marksman,¡± a half-bald researcher who sitting on an automated wheelchair moved towards the CEO, ¡°from what our special forces team gathered, there proved to be a success with our ¡®Electromagnetic Fluid¡¯ concept.¡± Eshort Marksman took out a piece of tissue and spit inside it, then disposed it into a combustion furnace, ¡°rubbish, I am pretty sure that is not us who made it.¡± The woman, who was Eshort¡¯s secretory walked up to him, ¡°there is a theory suggesting that the fluid samples are made by Leopard.¡± ¡°No, no, no,¡± Eshort did a spin on the ground with his gold-tipped boots, ¡° use your damn brains, Leopard is just making B-tech duplication of our products that might be cheaper, but worse in every aspect.¡± The secretory didn¡¯t back down from Eshort¡¯s statement, ¡°that may be true for now, but the Leopard¡¯s market share is increasing rapidly, and they are currently heavily recruiting ex-North K?lo? members.¡± Eshort chooses to not reply instantly, instead, he walked towards the samples placed in the vacuum tubes. Inside the tubes, the black gel slowly vibrated due to the input alternating current. Before anyone could stop him, Eshort sprint to the nearby computer and set all inputs to the maximum. BANG! The dark gel instantly turned into a long spike that made a hand-sized hold on its container. Seeing the result of his action, Eshort lowered the voltage and the spike melted back into the container. ¡°Interesting,¡± Eshort turned to the researchers, ¡°now show me what else can this gel do?¡± The senior researcher took out a small tray filled with broken mobile phones, where some even had their CPU removed and hammered into random shapes. The researchers then placed tray into a small chamber with a robotic injector. ¡°Ready to start?¡± Eshort took over control over the computer again and quickly typed in the commands. The robotic injector started to inject each phone with the gel and amazingly, the gel started to solidify, forming different components in the phone. While Eshort watched, the senior researcher handed him a phone that appeared brand new, ¡°this we what we produced in the test yesterday. This phone is perfectly functional.¡± Eshort started the phone and swiped randomly, ¡°So this gel is already programmed to repair, and, from what we have seen before, to attack?¡± The senior researcher nodded and gestured another researcher to come with a digital pad, ¡°this is what we have currently recorded from a sample of the gel.¡± Glancing through the sentences formed by nonsense symbols, Eshort handed the pad to his secretary, ¡°I¡¯ll read this later. Anyways, Dr Kursk, have you did a chemical analysis of the gel.¡± The old researcher nodded again, ¡°Yes we did, and that¡¯s what¡¯s troubling us the most: this sample has the same composition as our failed prototypes, like exact to the nearest 99.9999996 per cent.¡± ¡°Figure it out then,¡± Eshort said harshly, ¡°I want a us to be able to produce this material within four months. Now, I shall check on the other projects.¡± The researchers watched nervously as their boss disappeared through the door. ¡°You!¡± Dr Kursk dragged a younger researcher closer, ¡°Order the Search Team to do a carpet search of the North Side.¡± Request Dressed in her brownish coat, Dey Arithmetic walked alone into the ruins of the Northern side. She buried her hands in her pocket, fidgeting the unloaded miniature handguns inside. However, as soon as she spotted two of her colleges she stopped her dangerous play and ran towards them. ¡°Oh god, what happened?!¡± Dey cried as she noticed that one of the policemen had his hand covered in thick bandages but blood still leaked out from under, soaking the bandages. The other policeman, who lend a shoulder to the wounded policeman said to Dey, ¡°are you also in the force?¡± ¡°Yes, Sergeant Dey Arithmetic here,¡± Dey replied and took out a small bottle from her pocket, ¡°uncover the bandages, this will do a better job at stopping blood.¡± ¡°How convenient,¡± the policeman said and took off the bandages on his college, ¡°I told you not to touch those weird disks?¡± Dey stared at the long clean cut across the policeman¡¯s palm for a second but quickly covered it with a quick-drying spray which instantly mixed with the blood and formed a large ¡®cot¡¯. ¡°Okay, where did you find those¡­things?¡± Dey asked quickly. ¡°Just walk straight, and you¡¯ll know what I mean,¡± said the policeman, ¡°my boy and I were just doing our normal patrol, and we saw some metal disks, my pal tried to pick one up, but the edge was damn sharp, almost cut his hand in two.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Dey rushed towards the spot, ¡°take him to the hospital quickly!¡± After a short run, Dey stopped in her tracks. On the ground, were shiny metal plates with different diameters. Instead of approaching the plates, she picked a brick from the ground and tossed at the plates. ¡°Oh!¡± Dey gasped as the brick was instantly sliced in half in midair. As it turned out, there was a plate facing perpendicular to Dey but it was so thin that it was barely visible, ¡°those policemen were sure very lucky.¡± She pulled out one of her pistols, loaded standard police shot into it and aimed at the plate that was at an angle to the ground. Bam! Tin! The nine-millimetre bullet bounced off the plate like it was a rubber ball. ¡°Interesting,¡± Dey lowered her weapon, ¡°what are these made for? At this thickness and distance, even titanium should be dented by the bullet. Dey looked around and found two metal pipes, she picked them up and used them as a pair of gigantic chopsticks. After making sure that no plates were sticking out in front of her, she picked up the sharp plate with her chopsticks and placed it carefully onto a wood plank.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Well,¡± Dey looked down at the plate, ¡°time to move to safety without slicing myself in half.¡± Before she left the scene with her sample, Dey sealed the areas with the police tape carried in her pocket. ¡°That was a quite a failure,¡± CAST munched a whole stack of grass in its mouth. The sheep¡¯s wool had transformed dramatically since its creation: it became a rainbow sheep. Every five-second, the colour of its wool changes. Red, blue, yellow, grey, amber¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t expect her to realise the wave nature of the Hetzer so soon,¡± CAST laid down, ¡°way too soon. The Hetzer didn¡¯t even have time to delete her.¡± System:__User:___%&*!#$__has__entered__// ¡°That¡¯s not good news,¡± CAST said to itself as the water surrounding it started to wiggle into a word like shapes. Request progress report. ¡°Oh no,¡± CAST spit out its grass. How long do you still need? ¡°Ummm¡­¡± CAST shook with fear, ¡°may I request an ability to upgrade¡­¡± Really?! That means the surprise element is long gone, isn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­¡± Fine! As long as you don¡¯t leave any evidence, meaning you MUST delete all record holder, I¡¯ll grant you greater ability access to level 21. ¡°Thank you, master,¡± said CAST. Just get the job done, or I¡¯ll restart you. By the way, there is an emergency: a rescue team entering soon. Thus, I¡¯ll increase your access to level 30. ¡°So why do you call me in again, have you finally made up your mind?¡± Tann looked annoyedly at Loci, who was organizing the wiring of MARY. ¡°Almost,¡± Loci replied painfully as his fingers got stuck in some rubber bands, ¡°I just want to hear some of your thoughts¡­¡± ¡°Simple,¡± Tann took out dice and rolled on the table, ¡°if you want her to have ¡®free¡¯ state of mind, then I¡¯ll simply create a random number generator that will determine her personality, of course, RANDOMLY! However, if you want her to be your slave or something, tell me what kind of person you want and I¡¯ll try to mimic that as much as possible.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what troubling me the most,¡± Loci finally escaped from the rubber band and he went aside to adjust the different fluid contains located on the wall, ¡°what do you think?¡± ¡°I seriously don¡¯t care,¡± Tann replied, ¡°I just care about how I am going to be paid.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Loci dropped his work and thought, ¡°what do you want?¡± ¡°How long do you need to build a turret?¡± Tann asked. Loci took out a notebook that recorded his schedule, ¡°the one with the minigun took me around a week, but McCro was there to help me, so I¡¯ll say if I want to build one by myself, it will probably take around a week and four days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Tann said quietly, and drew out her shotgun, ¡°fine, can you take a look at this?¡± Loci almost jumped upon seeing the weapon, but he quickly calmed down, ¡°It¡¯s a NOVA, gosh, what have you done to it?¡± ¡°Just did a bit of shooting lately,¡± Tann said, ¡° okay, hear me out, do you think if you can modify a shotgun?¡± ¡°In terms of what,¡± Loci got himself a mop and cleaned the gun for Tann. Tann showed the sheets of polarizing filters and passed it to Loci together with a shotgun shot, ¡°Well, do you think if there is a way to shoot these out from this shotgun?¡± ¡°If I am correct,¡± Loci noticed the colour on the shell, ¡°this is a slug shot. So my best is to attach the film onto the slug, but this might cause the film to deform¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem,¡± said Tann (she could just increase the durability of the films), ¡°but how many can you make in a night?¡± ¡°If I can use my robot arm, then I¡¯ll say around a hundred,¡± Loci passed the items back to Tann, ¡°but I¡¯ll need you to provide me with the films and shells.¡± ¡°That will be great,¡± Tann replied. Loci wrote down his new task in the notebook, and turned back to his project, ¡°so what¡¯s your suggestion?¡± ¡°I told you already,¡± Tann snapped, ¡°it is simply your decision, but if you are not going to build the rest of her body then I do not suggest giving her a random personality.¡± ¡°You are correct,¡± said Loci sadly, ¡°but if I do build her body, it must be perfect.¡± Tann came closer to Loci¡¯s project and looked at the humanoid¡¯s head, ¡°I have a suggestion: what if you ask her what kind of body she wants?¡± Weekend ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe! I don¡¯t feel safe!¡± said Tann as she walked through an alley filled with robots armoured to teeth. Although they were all in dormant mode, the dim blue light from their engines still caused Tann¡¯s goosebumps to rise. However, there was one thing that slightly comforts her, the signs hanging on the robots with the phrase, ¡®Decal weapon attached, please schedule visits to see actual products.¡¯. ¡°Aren¡¯t these amazing?¡± Rosy, on the other hand, was wearing a ¡®student reporter¡¯ badge and quickly took photos of these weapons with her high-resolution camera, ¡°Hope Loci can come and check these out for himself so he knows how terrible he is.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel comfortable,¡± Tann told Rosy. Unlike Rosy, who try to make a stop at every battle-bot, Tann dragged Rosy by her arm and attempted to speed through the columns of iron giants. ¡°Why are you so impatient,¡± Rosy dragged back, ¡°I need all the data for my school magazine article!¡± From the embarrassments given by the instance stare of the people around them, Tann released Rosy¡¯s hand, ¡°Fine, but you told me that this is only a¡­¡± ¡°I said something to do with technology, right?¡± Rosy argued, ¡°you are the one asking if there is a radio jammer which is the most widely used military equipment!¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Tann replied, ¡°maybe we¡¯ll split for now and meet at the kitchen equipment section later.¡± One day ago, ¡­ After departing from Loci¡¯s secret lab, Tann encounter Rosy at the school¡¯s front gate who waved at her, ¡°what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Just chilling,¡± said Rosy who showed a badge inside a plastic container, ¡°I just finished a meeting with the magazine society and they want me to act as a reporter tomorrow.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Tann said coldly, ¡°good luck with your article.¡± ¡°I mean,¡± Rosy began her real intention, ¡°it is a tech exhibition at the Qchong Centre, where all the big tech companies, well, that¡¯s only NK (North K?lo?) and Leopard, as well as some small innovation companies, showcase their latest tech.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Wait,¡± that grabbed Tann¡¯s interest, ¡°what kind of products? Are the radio jammer or computer processors?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± Rosy took out her phone which displayed a digital leaflet and scrolled to a pink section, ¡°there, you can find NK¡¯s latest computer products and the radio jammer should be in the blue section.¡± ¡°Can you send me¡­actually, just let me take a picture of your screen,¡± Tann uttered. ¡°You don¡¯t like sharing your personal information, don¡¯t you?¡± Rosy asked as Tann quickly snapped a few pictures, ¡°fine, where do you want to meet tomorrow.¡± ¡°How about let¡¯s meet at the entrance of the pink zone?¡± Tann asked, ¡°but that¡¯s only if I can survive another night¡­¡± ¡°Hello¡­¡± Tann looked at a man dressed in military uniform, who had a poker face, ¡°do you have a radio jammer¡­¡± ¡°It can only be sold to personals with a license,¡± the man replied without looking at Tann directly. ¡°Are you talking about this one?¡± Tann showed him her ¡®fake¡¯ license that she created last night. The man finally turned to her and took her card without any warning, ¡°let me scan this¡­Okay, which model do you want? The civilian model has a max coverage of one kilometre.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tann said quickly and took her card back, ¡°get me that one.¡± ¡°Please pay at the exit,¡± said the man while packing a device with a large radio dish into a box filled with sponge. Rosy suddenly appeared from behind and whispered in Tann¡¯s ear, ¡°Finally found you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak too close to me without warning!¡± Tann cried while taking the product from the man, ¡°I thought we are meeting at the kitchen section?¡± Rosy took a picture of Tann and her box, ¡°I finished early, and I bet you should be here searching for some weird jamming device. Besides, what do you need that for?¡± ¡°Uhhhh¡­¡± Tann looked down at her big box, ¡°it is for¡­¡± ¡°Another personal project, I know,¡± Rosy didn¡¯t give Tann any time to make up a new explanation, ¡°just try not to have that thing near me, I don¡¯t want my phone to be broken by that thing.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± said Tann, ¡° have you seen anything interesting in the battle bot section?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Rosy drew out a paper leaflet from her pocket, ¡°I saw a random presentation over there by NK but it finished before I can call you, so I got this for you, it is quite interesting.¡± Biological Supercomputer ¡°The greatest advancement in computer science,¡± -----Dr. Kursk The brain has always been the most mysterious organ in all organisms. It has a processing power greater than any computer processor in existence. So, what if, we combine the calculation speed of artificial processors with biological brains? Will we be able to create the greatest supercomputer? The North K?lo? lab of computer science is currently researching a method to combining the brains of primate animals¡¯ brains with the latest CHIP10? processors¡­ ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Tann was lost in thoughts, ¡°I wonder how they will be able to do that?¡± ¡°I know right,¡± Rosy said happily, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see their final product, maybe they can finally the end of pi.¡± ¡°That will be bad.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Rosy asked curiously, ¡°it is just a never-ending recurring number tho. What¡¯s the problem with that? It¡¯s not like our whole society will break down.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Tann didn¡¯t want to elaborate on her point, ¡°but I want to know how they will connect the brains with the computer¡­¡± ¡°Have you not heard?¡± Rosy said, ¡°they had developed a lobster-like device that can connect to the spinal cord which can read the brain¡¯s electrical signals. I think they can just reverse it to feed signals into the brain.¡± Tann chooses not to reply, in her mind, a new plan was merging. Rescue es The clear sea water brushed lightly against the golden beach along the wild coastline. Not a single artificial object was visible in the field of vision. Sea birds of different sizes flew around freely¡­ SHRIEK! A loud signal of danger appeared from the birds standing on a cliff, and a dark object dived from the sky. The birds below quickly scattered and dived to gain their speeds, but they were still too slow. Snatch! The sharp claws of the eagle dug deep into the bird¡¯s back, penetrating its organs. ¡°Stunning,¡± on the cliff wall was a small cave and Dr Zeta was seating at the entrance inspecting the scenery, ¡°the graphics, the environment and the mobs looked much more realistic and comfortable than last time.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Phurder Puler appeared from behind of Zeta, ¡°Cine Graff and Theta Jenner had spent a long time on improving the graphics, we actually ¡®built¡¯ an entirely new engine enables for the new graphics to work.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Dr Angle?¡± Secny, Inqua and Casio exited their login cave too. Phurder produced a virtual display of the map, which marked their locations and he chooses to contact Bino who was outside the simulation, ¡°Bino? Can you search again?¡± On the other side, Bino skillfully entered the search function and glanced across multiple display boards, ¡°Her identity coordinate is completely gone from the user list. So far, I can only see all of yours¡¯s locations.¡± ¡°Not good, not good¡­¡± Phurder muttered. ¡°Maybe try looking for any program changes on the map?¡± Inqua Ranger finally spoke up with his ghost-like voice, ¡°if she did something that doesn¡¯t obey the simulation law, there should be an indication in the system.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Bino dragged over another monitor which was hovering in the air, ¡°Let me see¡­Oh, no¡­that¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°What?¡± Phurder cried. ¡°There are so many program changes, more like glitches that I cannot interoperate which one is Dr Angle and which ones are glitches¡­but hang on¡­all these glitches seemed to be centred around one spot...¡± ¡°Just send us the coordinates and we can ¡®tp_¡¯ there,¡± Inqua stated. ¡°There,¡± said Bino and copied the coordinates to the digital chat, ¡°you should be able to copy it¡­oh, Dr Cotanian you are done with the press release?¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening,¡± Cotanian sat down beside Bino and pointed at the screen, ¡°I see, you are giving them a coordinate, but I am pretty sure that¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Bino fixed his vision to where Cotanian was pointing, ¡°What¡¯s that? Hang on! I swear I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Well,¡± Cotanian said angrily, ¡°you probably should pay more attention to details.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening? What¡¯s happening?¡± Bino walked in circles while waiting for further instructions and he shouted at the rest of his team, ¡°guys don¡¯t wander off too far! We are getting Dr Angle¡¯s location coordinates!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Sorry,¡± Bino replaced the old coordinates with new ones, ¡°I didn¡¯t see that Dr Angle¡¯s location popped up on the main map, which is pretty far away from where I previously thought.¡± Before Phurder could say anything, Inqua made a head start, ¡°are you sure that¡¯s Tann¡¯s identity? What if it is another glitch?¡± However, Phurder pushed Inqua lightly, ¡°mate, how lazy are you, we just need to teleport a few more times, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m forcing you to travel half the simulation world to get there.¡± Yet, Phurder was met with Inqua¡¯s cold stare, ¡°are you joking, if it is a glitch, then that means that part of the simulation has a problem with it. I am not here to get trapped like Tann.¡± Phurder paused and thought for a moment, then he called Bino again, ¡°can you confirm if that coordinate is not some glitch?¡± ¡°No, it is not,¡± replied Bino confidently, ¡°I am still very surprised that I didn¡¯t see before. It perfectly matches Dr Angle¡¯s identity function.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Phurder pressed on his watch, which displayed his programming site, ¡°is there any way to tell her not to move away?¡± Bino zoomed-in Tann¡¯s red dot and rubbed his chin with interest, ¡°well¡­since we lost contact with her, it is not something I can do right now, but surprisingly, she seemed to be completely stationary at the moment. Just teleport there, there¡¯s no way she can get away from you guys.¡± After receiving the final confirmation from Bino, Phurder turned to the team and announced, ¡°alright, we have obtained Dr Angle¡¯s location, so please open your Terminal Board and type in the following command: _tp_Vec_(386.5,486.9,34.5);. However, don¡¯t press ¡®enter¡¯ right away, wait for my command in three¡­two¡­one¡­go!¡± In a blink of an eye, they were gone. All the faces turned towards Tann as she entered the club room. She quickly realized the new faces staring at her, so Tann responded them with a nervous greeting, ¡°hello¡­I¡¯m Tann¡­you guys are the team B¡­¡± ¡°GREAT!¡± A mean and harsh voice cried, ¡°I suppose that you feel you have MUCH more important things to not show up for the entire week and leave us with all the work! I don¡¯t care what the seniors say how good you are, I care that you show us some basic respect!¡± Tann looked at the speaker, for a short moment, she thought she was looking at Loci¡¯s twin brother. The person was short, covered in armour-like clothing and wearing a ridicules straw hat with a row of solar panels on it. The only difference between he and Loci were the eyebrows, Loci had thin eyebrows while this guy had something that looked like two bananas. He stormed towards and started to make weird hand gestures that Tann could only interoperate as ¡®glitches¡¯ in her simulation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Tann said while biting her tooth tightly together, ¡°do you have something for me to program?¡± ¡°Definitely!¡± the boy said, ¡°If you can¡¯t even program that, guess I¡¯ll need to kick you from the team.¡± ¡°Relax Isaac,¡± a tall and handsome boy who was covered in all sorts of sparkling pieces of jewelry. On his plain white shirt were a few buttons made from large diamonds and his belt was handcrafted with the finest leather and the enormous belt buckle was made with, of course, pure gold. ¡°That¡¯s a heavy belt for sure,¡± thought Tann, ¡°I am surprised he manages to visit this room for a whole week.¡± ¡°You must be Ivy Wittman right? Nice to meet you, I am Viscosy Floyd, and I am also new to Qchong University,¡± the golden boy addressed Tann in a surprising kind tone and swung his gold-coloured hair in the air, ¡°this is our team leader, Isaac Hook, and that¡¯s my girlfriend Shelia Terminal.¡± Behind Viscosy was a girl who seemed to be one of those¡­It took Tann a long time to understand that the girl was indeed Shelia Terminal. The girl seemed like a walking corpse with her discolored grey skin tightly outlined her skeleton structure. Behind her pair of great round glass were two red restless eyes. Shelia¡¯s vision accidentally with Tann¡¯s which caused her to hide instantly behind Viscosy. ¡°Shelia is quite a shy girl,¡± Viscosy said and moved aside, exposing his girlfriend, ¡°come on, don¡¯t be so shy.¡± ¡°I need to take a look at the personality generator after I log out,¡± Tann thought, she suddenly turned to the left and saw Rosy looking at her with sorrow, ¡°I know, it is a real shame I can¡¯t be with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough with the introductions,¡± Isaac¡¯s annoying voice Tann back, ¡°let me show you what we have so far.¡± He pointed at a large blueprint on the workbench, ¡°my voice is dying, Viscosy, can you do the explanations instead?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Viscosy handed a laser pointer to his girlfriend, ¡°can you point at the places while I am explaining, starting from the top.¡± Shelia moved the red dot to the top of the blueprint which was a large disk-shaped object with the radius of half of a meter. ¡°That is our ammo,¡± said Viscosy. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Tann blinked at the object Shelia was pointing, ¡°What do you mean by ammo?¡± ¡°We are going to shoot these from our turret,¡± said Viscosy, ¡°since the competition requires the turrets to only be ¡®anti-personal¡¯ so Isaac suggested that cold weapons such as blades will be good since they are silent and with predictable ricochet patterns¡­¡± ¡°So we can place the turret outside the field of vision of the targets and use the structure of the building to hold off key entrances,¡± Isaac said and showed Tann steel saw blade, ¡°we will be using the same blade, we had already done a lot of measurements of the ricochet patterns last week, so it¡¯ll be your job to figure out the velocity and angle of the firing of these blades.¡± Tann took out her laptop and looked at the paper slipcovered with different values. It was a simple task that reminded her time in primary school where she had to create a game where the player had to bounce a ball off different surfaces enable to score a point. She just needs to set the coefficient of the collision to an adjustable value, and the rest can be easily worked out. However, enable to not make the other suspicious, Tann slowly entered the commands while keeping an eye on her groupmates. Isaac sat down near another workbench and started to attach motors on to a cylinder-shaped container. He took the saw blade and checked if it can fit into the container, then he used an electrical drill to make a hole on the bottom of the container. On the other hand, Viscosy went over to Isaac and said something besides his ear. Isaac nodded and Viscosy dragged Shelia away from the club room. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Tann asked. ¡°Getting a drink,¡± Viscosy replied and disappeared from the door.