The "colleague" spoke very politely, and he had a rich, magnetic baritone that any man would envy. Yet when those qualities combined with what he was saying, Tool Man 1's already overheated chest nearly exploded.
"May I?"
"..."
Tool Man 1's body instinctively tensed, almost assuming a defensive posture. But at that moment, Black Lion's instruction flicked through his mind:
...If you run into someone who asks for it on the way, just give it to them.
That order wiped out all his initiative.
Tool Man 1 froze for half a second, then hurriedly pulled the notebook from his chest and offered it up with both hands.
The "colleague" politely accepted it with both hands as well, rubbing it twice as though testing the material before opening the notebook and beginning to read through it.
Tool Man 1 very consciously shut out the scene that followed. Without letting his gaze wander, he stared only at the elevator panel as if it contained the ultimate secret to a promotion and raise.
The elevator continued descending. Beside him, the "colleague" turned the notebook's pages with gentle restraint. Apart from the occasional rustle of paper, there was no other sound, making even the faint hum of the Magnetic Levitation Elevator unusually clear.
This had to be the most difficult stretch of Tool Man 1's life—unbearably long. He was already wondering whether he should press a button for some intermediate floor and simply run away.
The notebook had already been handed over, hadn't it?
Yet just as that thought arose, the "colleague," as though reading his mind, spoke softly in that magnetic baritone.
"It won't take long. I'll return it to you."
I don't want it back!
No one was destined to care about a tool man's true thoughts.
Whether the other party's attitude