Ever since Merlin had upgraded her engine and firepower, she had not dared underestimate this human high schooler. With the mystery he had displayed today, she found him even harder to read.
"No problem." Merlin agreed readily.
But soon, he thought of something and curiously asked Arcee, "You have two sisters, right?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Arcee asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I noticed during the transmission. They seem to share the same core as you."
"You invaded my program?" Arcee's voice darkened.
"Don't forget, I modified your entire body." Merlin pointed at her Atomic Engine, which flickered with blue light, then asked, "Since you share a core, do you also share what you feel?"
Arcee, who had still been somewhat angry, immediately flushed. Without saying a word, she lay on the ground and quickly transformed into a Ducati motorcycle.
"Hey, you haven't answered me yet." Merlin knocked on her shell.
But no matter how he called to her, she gave no response.
"I just want to understand your linking technology." Merlin wanted to see whether he could use the shared technology of Arcee's Sisters to weave a massive supercomputer from a single AllSpark core, thereby building a Mechanical Legion.
Watching Arcee remain motionless, as if she were shyly burying her head, Merlin recalled what he had just said and quickly raised an eyebrow in realization.
All right, that question had indeed been a little abrupt.
The next day, Midtown High School.
"Hey, Flesher, did an app suddenly appear on your phone last night?"
"R-Star? You got it too?"
"Of course. It popped up while I was doing a Doomsday Mission last night. I became a player. What about you?"
"I agreed too. I want to see whether the stuff in the Shop is real. If it is, I'm definitely buying an Oppressor."
"What are you talking about? What app?"
"You don't have it?"
"No, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, shit, why wasn't I invited to become a player? This has to be discrimination against us Black people."
"Probably because you haven't bought the game."
Of the three people around Flesher, only the Black student had not received an invitation.
When Peter entered the school, the students around him were all excitedly discussing the newly appeared R-Star APP on their phones.
For teenagers like them, this was undoubtedly something thrilling and cool.
After becoming players, they could take on missions there to earn money and even buy vehicles and weapons that had only existed in games.
Beyond that, they could also purchase properties such as Nightclubs and apartments.
"Vroom, vroom, vroom..." Suddenly, a deep roar sounded outside the school gates. A pitch-black, sleek Vigilante pulled up in front of them.
"Oh my God, the Batmobile?"
"No, that's the Vigilante. What the hell?"
"No way, did someone actually buy one?"
Though the Vigilante was completely black, it seemed to stand beneath a spotlight at that moment, dazzlingly brilliant as it drew everyone's gaze.
In reality, no man could refuse that car.
Then, after it parked, the Vigilante's door slowly opened. A fresh-faced boy with brown curls stepped out.
"Harry!" The moment he appeared, someone recognized him.
Harry Osborn, son of the president of Osborn Industries.
"Oh, look, that's Saint Taro! It's my favorite motorcycle."
"And behind it is... a Santolau!"
Superburn, Beefe Wuuf, Land Comet...
Excited cries rose and fell outside the school gates. Those who had not downloaded the game and had not become players could only stare blankly, having no idea what everyone was cheering about.
As vehicle after vehicle from Grand Theft Auto appeared, all sorts of strange vehicles that looked like concept cars filled the parking lot, making it seem as if a car show were being held.
Only then did Midtown High School's students realize just how many rich second-generation kids were among their classmates.
They had received the game invitations only last night, yet some had already driven cars from the game to school today.
After becoming players last night, the more impulsive ones had directly placed orders in the game. The more rational ones had excitedly driven to the physical stores, and after confirming everything was legitimate, they immediately picked up a vehicle.
Many had gone specifically for special vehicles like the Superburn, Vigilante, and Oppressor, which came with nitrous boosts and Atomic Engines. But due to their limited quantities, only a very small number had managed to buy them.
Harry was clearly one of them.
Likewise, as the platform expanded and the number of players increased, the R-Star APP spread through Apple City like radiation, causing no small disturbance. Some of the people who had been focused on the news of Stark shutting down his arms business had also diverted part of their attention.
However, the platform's stores were all located in Hell's Kitchen, so they had to think carefully before taking any action.
Meanwhile, Merlin, who was also among the students, watched the vehicles driving past the school gates, and the corners of his mouth nearly split from grinning.
Over the course of the night, the zeros behind the amount had never stopped multiplying, growing at an explosive rate. This was even faster than printing money.
The robotic arms on the intelligent production lines were practically about to smoke from overwork.
After seeing that people had truly bought game vehicles, many others could no longer hold back and placed orders as well.
Even now, Merlin's balance was still rapidly increasing.
But there were only tens of thousands of players in Apple City at the moment. It should stabilize before long, and then people would start doing missions.
Peter looked at the R-Star software on his phone, then at the students around him excitedly discussing the game. The hesitation in his eyes immediately hardened into resolve.
That evening, Peter returned to the sewers and met up with Professor Connors.
Because he was still wanted, Professor Connors could not go out and could only have Peter investigate the situation.
"How did it go?" The moment Peter returned, Connors asked impatiently.
"Many of my classmates had this software installed on their phones last night, and they even bought the vehicles displayed in the Shop."
"The missions are real. This platform can definitely find us the materials for the Canary Device," Peter said excitedly.
"Calm down, calm down, Peter." Seeing that Peter could barely wait to accept the mission, Connors hurriedly tried to soothe him.
"We need to think about this platform's purpose."
"Purpose? Either it wants to make money, or it's run by lunatics trying to cause chaos. Either way, it won't have much impact on us."
"We have no way back, Professor!" Peter said seriously, clenching his fists.
Professor Connors fell silent at those words.
Yes, they had already lost everything.
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