Seven Percent Sugar

Lan Muzi stood up and poured Yun Ming a cup of hot water.

"It's a pity we can't get in touch with Jing Heng." He put down the kettle, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

No one responded at the long table.

Zhuo Shi rubbed his temples, Long Yeyue continued to peruse the intelligence reports with her head down. Ya Li sat there, her fingers fidgeting with her cuffs.

Yun Ming didn't speak, but simply picked up his teacup and looked at the tiny ripples on the water's surface.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from the corner:

"We can get in touch."

The tone was very soft, almost languid, yet perfectly clear.

It was as if someone had been sitting there the whole time, and only now did they slowly and deliberately interject with a comment.

Lan Muzi's hand trembled, and the lid of the teapot clicked open.

Zhuo Shi suddenly sat up straight, Long Yeyue abruptly looked up, and Cai Yue'er placed her hand on the edge of the table.

Ya Li seemed frozen in place, her face slowly turning away.

Yun Ming also stopped.

His fingers, which were holding the teacup, stiffened for a moment, and he didn't put it down immediately.

He turned his head, and like everyone else, looked in the direction from which the sound came.

That was at Wu Zhangkong's feet.

A dark silver metal box sat there quietly, slightly smaller than a medicine box.

A very thin blue light emanated from the edge of the box, gradually brightening, one beat at a time, very slowly, like breathing.

Wu Zhangkong remained motionless, but his eyes slowly lowered as he looked at the box at his feet.

His expression didn't change much, but his left hand had already been placed subtly on his side.

"... Who?" Yun Ming spoke first. His voice was still steady, but there was a very faint hint of wariness in the last syllable.

"Seven Percent Sugar."

The voice came from the box, still lukewarm, "Spare terminal left by the master. Number 07. This is the first activation."

Yun Ming placed the teacup back on the table, staring at the box. "Did you leave this behind by Jing Heng?"

"Yes. To be precise, I'm only a part of it. The core host is with the master. This terminal can only do two things: listen for keywords, and, when necessary, contact the master via a satellite secretly launched by him."

Seven Percent Sugar said, "I just heard you say you couldn't get in touch with Jing Heng, so I woke up."

Ya Li's lips trembled slightly.

She stared at the box, her eyes already red, but she didn't utter a sound.

Zhuo Shi glanced at Yun Ming, then at the box, and asked in a low voice, "Did he also set up that satellite?"

"Yes. It was launched before the master left. The orbital altitude was calculated, and the signal coverage extends to the entire Douluo Planet. This channel does not pass through the Federation Public Network, nor will it be intercepted by the Skynet or the Spirit Pagoda. But it has a limitation," said Seven Percent Sugar.

"What restrictions?" Yun Ming asked.

"It can only contact the owner."

"The satellite is designed specifically for the owner, myself, and Half-Sweet Coffee; there's currently no interface to connect it to other devices in the Sea God Pavilion," said Seven Percent Sugar.

"Therefore, I can only relay messages for you; I have no way to access your intelligence network in reverse, nor can I directly send your instructions to others."

After listening, Yun Ming remained silent for a while.

The people around the long table gradually recovered from their initial shock.

"Half-Sweet Coffee is...?"

"My master's second AI is responsible for processing massive amounts of information. I am the third. My master's original design intention was for me to become a butler."

Lan Muzi gently put down the kettle and said softly, "It's enough to contact only Jing Heng."

"Yes."

Seven Percent Sugar responded, "But each communication cannot exceed ninety seconds. That's the terminal's energy limit."

"Besides, I'm just a backup terminal with limited processing power, so I can't maintain long-term data interaction like Half-Sweet Coffee. What I can do is send your messages in full through the window at the appropriate time."

Where is he?

Ya Li finally spoke, her voice very soft, as if afraid of severing this only connection, "How is he? Is he hurt?"

"Master is safe."

Seven Percent Sugar said, "I can't say the exact location. That's not an option in my permission settings, but the vital signs are stable and there are no injuries."

Ya Li closed her eyes and slowly sat back down in the chair as if all her strength had been drained.

Her hands were still clutching the hem of her clothes, her knuckles white, but her breathing was more steady than before.

Yun Ming looked at the box. "I need you to pass on a message to him. Tell him that Xing Lan Tang Sect will be secretly supporting Xinglan from the outside. Also, tell him that we are aware of the situation in Heaven Dou City and will not go out. Let him proceed at his own pace."

"Recorded."

Seven Percent Sugar paused for a moment, "Excuse me, should I send it to the master, or to Half-Sweet Coffee?"

"Is there a difference?" Yun Ming asked.

"Half-Sweet Coffee is right next to the master. Sending it directly to Half-Sweet Coffee can save some channel loss. With the energy of my current backup terminal, sending it directly to Half-Sweet Coffee should last for a few more rounds."

"I will automatically select the optimal transmission window based on the owner's current movement speed and distance, but I cannot guarantee a real-time response," said Seven Percent Sugar.

"The owner built this satellite himself. Before he left, he said that he would only turn on the receiver when he was out of the pursuit."

"Does he know I'll be looking for him?" Ya Li suddenly asked.

Seven Percent Sugar paused for a moment.

The silence didn't seem like a malfunction, but rather like someone carefully choosing their words.

Then it said, "The master didn't say anything before he left. But he left this terminal in the Sea God Pavilion. If it was just for you to contact him unilaterally, he should have left a simpler communicator."

"I think he must have other uses for me, especially since I'm still a work in progress."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

"Could you please provide me with a stable power source? I would also appreciate a printer."

Tang Yinmeng was puzzled, but she had already stood up. "You need these things?"

"Yes, because the owner didn't have enough time to create me and couldn't perfect my functions, so they can't directly initiate calls or send messages through me."

"Currently, my main computing power is focused on registering people who are going out and on simple information transmission between them."

"But with a stable power supply and a printer, I can transmit information. The power supply is to maintain the connection with the owner, and the printer is responsible for printing out the content the owner wants to convey."

Tang Yinmeng stood there, looking down at the box, then looking up at Yun Ming. Yun Ming nodded slightly, without saying a word.

"I'll go get it."

Tang Yinmeng said, "There's a spare Level 5 energy battery in the warehouse; I saw it when I was inventorying the supplies before. There's also a printer next to the old filing cabinet; it's still usable."

"I'll go with you."

Lan Muzi followed. The two left the Council Hall, their footsteps quickly fading into the distance. Zhuo Shi dragged his chair forward, leaned closer to the box, and frowned as he asked, "You just said you weren't perfected? Then how did you know you wanted the printer?"

"My underlying logic includes a list of requirements."

Seven Percent Sugar said, "When the conditions are met, I will ask the person closest to me. There were many of you just now, and that lady stood up. According to social logic, she is the right person to retrieve the device."

Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Long Yeyue glanced at him and said in a low voice, "You can't even argue with a half-finished product."

"His design direction started earlier than mine."

Seven Percent Sugar said, still in a soft, hesitant tone, "When my master was working on me, the schedule was very tight, and I wasn't able to fully dedicate myself to it. Many modules weren't finished, but the main logic had already run. The printer wasn't for me; it was for my master."

"You mean, he's going to use a printer to send a message?" Ya Li asked.

"Yes. The master will transmit encrypted information via satellite. He can't print it remotely directly, so the information has to stay with me."

"I need a printer to reproduce the contents. That way, you can see what he sent back," Seven Percent Sugar replied.

Yun Ming was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did he send it back?"

"No."

Seven Percent Sugar said, "This is the first time I've prepared to enter the communication window since it started. The owner left a code before leaving, so when Half-Sweet Coffee contacted me, I was prepared in advance to answer the call."

"Can you catch it?" Long Yeyue asked.

"As long as you have a power source and a printer, you'll be fine."

Seven Percent Sugar said, "My signal receiving capability is sufficient. It's just that without an output device, I couldn't convert the information into a format you could understand. Now that we have a printer, the problem is solved."