Finn stared at the familiar image of the girl on the screen, smiling gently at him, yet a faint sense of unease flickered through his heart—EVA seemed a little off today.
For some reason, her earlier "I'm here" had seemed to carry a hint of teasing.
Did I do something wrong lately? Did I make her mad, and now she wants to mess with me?
Finn thought back but could not recall anything he had done wrong. He shook his head and pushed the strange feeling back down.
He took a huge gulp of ice-cold beer, sighed contentedly, and switched to a half-joking tone. "What's going on with Junior Brother Lu right now? Any inside gossip—ah, no, I mean internal briefings you can share?"
"EVA" tilted her head slightly, revealing a somewhat helpless yet indulgent expression. Finn knew that expression very well—it was the one she wore whenever he pried into things he was "not supposed to ask about."
"This is a highly classified matter of the Executive Department, Finn. You should not inquire about it."
Her voice came through the high-quality speakers. The synthesized effect was flawless, soft and cool, no different from usual.
"Don't be so cold. Just tell me a little?" Finn shamelessly clasped his hands in a pleading gesture, attempting to muddle through with his usual frivolous grin.
"EVA" watched him. In the end, she seemed to "give in," sighing softly and revealing an affectionate smile, as though she had no way to deal with him. "There is no complete official report on file yet," she began in a calm, professional tone, "but I have integrated the remaining analyzable, unencrypted data fragments from the electronic devices of relevant mission personnel, battlefield recorders, and so on, roughly outlining the incident—"
"First confirmation: Norton, the King of Bronze