Volume Five: Returning from the Other Shore - Chapter 498: Branded with the Name of a Weapon (2)

"This is video footage issued by the President regarding the next important operation. Please watch it carefully."

Ankri placed a sturdy-looking file folder on the coffee table and took out a metal box about half the size of her palm. It had patterns printed with molten spirit stones on it and looked very high-end.

This is the image carrier that comes with the Spirit Light Display Screen. It's similar to a videotape on Earth, a specialty of the Spirit Star, whose science books have been misread. This thing is much more expensive to make than a videotape, and the images can be stored for a shorter time, but the image quality is surprisingly good.

Julia looked dismissive.

"Hmph, what's so great about this outdated stuff? My Memory Crystal Chip and high-precision cameras are far superior to this thing! Quickly convert to the great science! /Smug!"

Ankri pursed her lips and remained silent. After spending some time with them, she had figured out the best way to deal with these oddballs—ignore them.

She skillfully plugged in the cables to the wall-mounted Spirit Light Display Screen, opened the lower cover, and inserted the metal box inside.

"Wait a minute, something's not right?"

Ankri pulled the metal box out, put it back in, and pulled it out again, repeating this several times...

"What's going on? Why did it suddenly stop working? It doesn't feel like it's fully inserted at all... Wait, no way!"

She removed the monitor from the wall—it wasn't as heavy as she had expected; it was very light, extremely light, only about a tenth of its original weight.

"This..."

"Hmph, look at your stupid face. Let this genius robot scientist girl explain it to you / Look at the eyes of an idiot!"

Julia gently tapped the screen with her finger, and its bottom cover automatically disassembled. What appeared inside was not a complex array of spiritual energy and various bulky pendants, but a series of small plates of unknown material, covered with numerous dense protrusions, which seemed to be some kind of component.

"What's this?"

"The pinnacle of human wisdom / It's too much trouble to explain to idiots!"

"... Apart from being lighter, I don't feel any difference."

"So you guys are so naive! PCBs are lightweight, efficient, inexpensive, and easy to mass-produce—one of 'Father's' greatest inventions! I've completely redesigned this display, replacing all the cumbersome parts with PCBs, making it electrically powered, and the screen is LCD! / I'm so proud of myself!"

"I don't understand!"

"So, this is what low intelligence means..."

"Shut up! I'm serious!" Ankri shook her head irritably. "I don't care how advanced you make it, just tell me how to use it!"

"See the socket on the side? Just plug the storage chip in, and you can directly modify it using the 'lovepapa' operating system! / Hehehe!"

"What the hell is the lovepapa Operating System... Besides, I don't have any 'storage crystals' like you're talking about, I'm just a Spirit Particle Videotape."

"..."

"So, how do we use this thing that you've modified so much to store the Spirit Particle Videotape?"

"Eh..." "..."

"..."

"... Don't tell me this thing can only read those storage crystals, but can't play ordinary videotapes."

"... perhaps?"

"I'll deduct your salary!!!"

Ankri had a new Spirit Light Display Screen brought in, Julia still seemed eager to modify it, but Valentina forcefully stopped her.

"Let me go, or I'll use my magnificent 152 and 183 to slam your ass! /Angry!"

"Enough with your stubbornness! All you think about is modifying things or playing with cannons. Why don't you try some refined hobbies like me?"

"Is crushing a man's genitals considered elegant? /Do you doubt it?"

"This is something your stubborn mind can't comprehend."

"My head is covered with a bionic skin made of superalloy, and the interior contains a large amount of highly refined metals and silicon, with very little pure iron content / Correction."

"Yes, yes, yes, what a troublesome guy... Hey, Chi Ying, you think this guy is troublesome too, right?"

Valentina asked the overturned cardboard box, which trembled slightly, and then—

"You can't see me... you can't see me... you can't see me, you can't see me, you can't see me..."

"... I was so stupid to ask for your opinion." Valentina shook her head.

"See? You admit you were stupid / smirk"

"You, a piece of trash who crashes while reading a novel, are calling me stupid? Are you looking for trouble? Punishing unreasonable people is one of the essential lessons for the upper class."

"You guys... sigh, never mind, I don't even know where to begin complaining... come and see!"

While they were fooling around, Ankri had already set up the Spirit Light Display Screen. Julia and Valentina immediately came over curiously, while Chi Ying under the cardboard box remained unmoved.

"What's this?"

"Our objective for this operation is to capture video footage of their battle against the Papacy in Gloria City. Watch it carefully; the more you know about the enemy, the greater your chances of victory."

The formula "understanding equals winning odds" does not hold true.

"Shut up and just watch!"

Valentina initially looked disdainful, but the more she looked, the more serious her expression became.

That stunningly beautiful woman with long, pink hair arrived at the Cathedral of the True God... and then... boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom, blood and explosions everywhere? And what's with that giant, exploding Lycoris radiata? Would you really survive being blown up by that thing? The most confusing thing is, why did the scene disappear at the end? What was that blindingly huge explosion just before the scene disappeared?

And what about those three women fighting that ugly monster?

That little gray-haired girl was exploding with blood, flesh, and bones? Doesn't it hurt? Seriously, it's disgusting! And what's with that black-haired Qipao Woman? Suddenly she created a huge lump of dirt and then it vanished? Isn't she tired? And what's with that white-haired girl? She's crackling with electricity while yelling and causing chaos? Actually, you're the monster!

Valentina couldn't help but swallow hard. What was going on? These guys were all incredibly strong! Valentina wasn't stupid. Unlike many of the idiots in the organization who looked down on others because of their abilities, she knew that while her powers could easily defeat most people, she would only be a sitting duck against these level of powerhouses. Good heavens, seriously? They were actually making her fight these guys? Were the higher-ups brainless?

"... Hey, Miss Ankri, are we really going to fight these guys? Isn't this already a matter for your master— Yu He, who's in a high position?"

"How dare you be rude! How can our President associate with these barbaric women? Keeping our President at ease is our duty, our calling, our noble goal, and our..."

Ankri couldn't stop talking about how good the President, Valentina sighed deeply.

"So, this kind of mission shouldn't have been assigned to us at all, right, Chi Ying? Even though you're also a member of the 'Extra Weapon'."

"I can't hear you... you can't see me... I can't hear you..."

Listening to the mumbling coming from the box, Valentina felt like she was crazy for talking to Chi Ying. She kicked another man's testicles hard in frustration and then looked at Julia.

"Julia, you wouldn't happen to be... Julia too?"

Julia did not reply.

Valentina suddenly had a strange feeling; she was very sensitive to danger, so she involuntarily took a step back.

Julia was staring intently at the screen, not moving an inch.

Her camera lens kept repeatedly shrinking and dilating, which was very eerie.

His face was expressionless, as if all the components beneath that artificial skin were frozen in place.

"... Julia?"

Julia still didn't reply. Suddenly, she raised her hand and gently stroked the screen with her fingertips, her mechanical knuckles making an abnormal clicking sound.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed her gaze remained fixed on the same person.

It was that white-haired, purple-eyed woman with explosive combat power.

"Found it..."

The voice that escaped her lips leaned more towards a cold, electronic tone than a girl's gentle, melodious one.

Crunch, crunch.

Every component in its body was creaking and groaning.

It hurts.

Even though my body, which is mostly mechanized, has long since lost the ability to feel pain, it still hurts so much.

But this pain doesn't make people sad; instead, it brings a sense of exhilaration.

Is there something wrong with the emotion control module? Why does it feel so strange?

Well, whatever.

She still remembers the man she loved most, the one who created her, the man she called her father.

She lost everything when she heard the news of her father's death in the underground laboratory.

Who killed my father? How was he killed? What was the exact time of his death? We know nothing.

She frantically gathered all sorts of information and eventually found a text document of her father's diary on a terminal. Her father was a meticulous person, treating even life with the same rigor as an experiment.

The last entry in his diary—the one from the day before he died—clearly outlined his planned actions.

"To personally kill Urahara Sakura Dance in front of those brats."

So, the father died while trying to kill that person named Urahara Sakura Dance?

In that case, no matter how you look at it, Urahara Sakura Dance is the murderer, right? Even if she isn't, she must be someone connected to her; she can't escape responsibility either way.

"Urahara Sakura Dance... Urahara Sakura Dance... Urushihara Urushihara Urushihara Urushihara Urushihara!!!!!!!"

"Julie--"

Click!!!

In the next instant, the display screen shattered into several smooth-edged fragments.

Julia maintained her outstretched hand posture, a sharp Laser Cutter popping from her fingertips, its cold light slicing through the air.

The same cutting blades sprang from her body, humming loudly. One touch and you'd be sliced into mincemeat! A terrifying pressure emanated from her entire being, like countless sharp blades hovering overhead, ready to fall and riddle those below with holes at any moment. Julia was radiating that chilling aura.

Ankri and Valentina both stared at her in surprise, the same thought forming in their minds—

Who is this terrifying monster before us?

Julia? Is it really Julia?

That Julia who keeps crashing and has bizarre way of speaking?

Something must have gone wrong.

"... Um, are you alright, Julia?"

Ankri asked tentatively.

He thought he wouldn't get a response, but Julia spoke up.

It was a chilling electronic sound, each syllable accompanied by a hissing electrical current.

"Me? I'm great, as great as I could be... Ha."

She turned her head.

His pupils were no longer a clear, bright green, but a dangerous, deep red.

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Tsk tsk tsk