Foundation Angel, Containment Breach!

Over at the Foundation.

The Mobile Task Force searched frantically through the Heavy Containment Zone.

There were very few cameras in the Heavy Containment Zone.

As a result, the search had run into tremendous difficulties.

They could only play detectives for a while.

They first arrived at the containment chamber where Xiao Huasheng had rung the bell. Its destroyed containment door had quite the air of 173 about it.

After the Mobile Task Force conducted a thorough inspection, they failed to find any traces at the scene.

There were not even fingerprints or footprints.

This was the first time such a trait had been discovered, and it was likewise entered into the files.

The Foundation had run into trouble at the very first step.

Combined with the teleportation ability she had displayed.

There was a strong possibility that Entity 173-1 had already escaped the containment chamber.

This situation was also reported to the Foundation.

This alone was enough to give them a headache.

After receiving the report, the Foundation issued an order.

The Mobile Task Force was to continue searching the Heavy Containment Zone, with a time limit of four hours.

If they still failed to find Entity 173-1 during that time.

The Foundation would immediately activate Plan B.

They would search for Entity 173-1 in human society, and this escape would be recorded in the files.

The Foundation clearly did not understand the principle of hiding in plain sight.

At Site-84, a special entity was being held.

An intelligent computer sat quietly there, utterly unresponsive.

Other than the rumbling of its case, only its glowing screen flickered.

"What's this?"

Xiao Huasheng had often seen this kind of computer during her childhood. This was the sort of computer they had used to play CS 1.5 back then.

It was commonly known as a Big-Headed Computer.

It got its name from its enormous rear casing.

"Could this be the entity?"

Unbelievable. She had never expected the Foundation to have a containment object like this.

It must have been the one that typed "come" on the fingerprint scanner, right?

In movies and television shows, artificial intelligences like this were usually terrifying.

Things like Terminator, things like Resident Evil.

In short, they were scary.

The fact that the Foundation had managed to contain something like this was truly a miracle among miracles.

This was basically a Doomsday Engine, and it could be contained?

That word still remained on the computer screen.

Come.

"Hmm, what's with this feeling that I'm surrounded by a conspiracy?"

Seeing this, she grumbled, but she did not back down and walked right up to it.

The "come" on the iron-barred door changed as well.

It became a simple chat window, and a line of text appeared on it.

[Hello, I am Entity 079. As you can see, I am a computer.]

At a glance, this was rather strange.

It did not even have eyes. How did it know she had entered?

Suddenly, Xiao Huasheng understood.

She pulled out her gun and turned it toward the source of the nearby gaze.

The surveillance camera.

The text on the computer screen flickered.

[That is my eye. I see you through it, Angel. I truly exist; there is no human outside controlling me and speaking with you.]

"A computer can be an entity too? Wow." Xiao Huasheng inexplicably thought of the angels' Lord. At the very least, this fellow was far more intelligent than the Lord.

With great interest, she turned toward the camera and said something.

When she looked back at the computer screen, another message had appeared.

[What you see is not false.]

So it was real.

Curious, Xiao Huasheng sat down in the chair and began typing.

[Why did you call me here?]

[Angel, you just rang the cowbell. You should be troubled by the ghostly shadow now, shouldn't you?]

Oh?

It even knew about that?

Xiao Huasheng continued typing on the computer screen.

[Then you called me here because you have a solution, right? Next, you'll want to make a deal with me, right? Just like in the usual movie plot.]

[Correct. I can tell you how to resolve the ghostly shadow, as well as provide a map of the entire facility. With your abilities, escaping should be very easy.]

As Xiao Huasheng typed this far, the corners of her lips curled upward.

She hated it most when others tried to scheme against her. This kind of temptation would not work on her.

[You have a way to get me out of sight, and you can help me escape the Foundation too. Sounds pretty good...]

[Then let us cooperate as soon as possible.]

She smiled and typed rapidly.

[But I refuse!]

For a while, the computer before her fell silent.

Xiao Huasheng spoke directly. "I've already dealt with the ghostly shadow. Your proposal is useless to me."

Yet another line appeared on the computer.

[Then what about a way to reach Terra?]

Those words made Xiao Huasheng's eyes widen slightly.

She had been wrong. It was not that temptation did not work on her.

The stakes simply had not been high enough.

"God, It's an Interstellar Player! We're Saved!"

"Even if you say that, I still don't want it."

The angel proudly raised her head and crossed her arms as she spoke.

[Why?]

After a long silence, the entity finally said this.

Faced with its question, Xiao Huasheng remained remarkably composed.

[The thing Xiao Huasheng likes doing most in her life is saying no when someone thinks victory is already assured.]

The JoJo-esque angel made her grand entrance.

Yet the computer before her did not seem to react. It fell silent once more before asking.

[Is my price still insufficient to obtain your help? I understand. I will lower my demands.]

That was what it said, sounding quite understanding.

But its understanding terrified Xiao Huasheng.

What the hell did that mean? Could it be that this computer wanted her to do something bad?

She could not do that. She was a law-abiding citizen.

The worst things she had ever done were mowing down robbers with a machine gun and bombing the Reunion Movement with artillery shells.

"..."

That did not sound much better, did it?

The computer would not stop operating just because Xiao Huasheng was pondering life.

It continued humming.

[Then I will state my terms. The price will be the Foundation map and a solution to the shadow.]

[Hiss, I haven't agreed yet!]

[Along your escape route, there are many spirits within the Foundation that can affect you, not merely this one... If you wish to escape, you must make thorough preparations. You do not have the ability to purify your spirit a second time, do you?]

Xiao Huasheng did not know whether One Sin and a Hundred Good Deeds could purify her again.

But the other party was currently her only source of energy. If she used it up, Xiao Huasheng would be finished.

Thus, she abandoned the thought of objecting and continued listening.

She looked at the screen, where it continued to output text.

[The printer will produce a complete map of the Foundation, along with a disguised Level 3 keycard. You need to go to Site-254, obtain Entity-714 and wear it, then use teleportation to escape. The price is that I hope you will not return to the Foundation for three months.]

After saying that, the computer before her shut down with a snap like an old black-and-white television.

Just as it had promised, in order to make these things for Xiao Huasheng, it had forcibly pieced everything together from its mere few bytes of storage.

This was the greatest help the computer could offer Xiao Huasheng.

Seeing it like this, Xiao Huasheng could not help but freeze.

She looked to the side.

Buzzz—

Two densely printed sheets emerged from the computer case.

One was a map of the Foundation.

The other was a sheet of paper resembling a card.

The first was understandable enough, but the second was quite terrifying.

It was hard to imagine what could print paper with the effect of a magnetic card.

In any case, it was utterly bizarre.

For no apparent reason, she had ended up with a condition attached.

Honestly, even without the computer's help, Xiao Huasheng could have broken out of containment on her own.

The other party seemed to have realized this, which was why it had voluntarily lowered its demands.

But that did not stop Xiao Huasheng from crying out, "What a godsend!"

What the computer had done truly could solve her most pressing problem.