Making Friends

"The injured woman's vital signs are temporarily stable. Although she did not suffer extensive burns, excessive carbon monoxide inhalation caused primary brain death."

In a room resembling an operating theater, Adjutant's voice drifted through the air. On the high-tech operating table beneath the shadowless lamp lay a brown-haired woman covered only by a blue sheet.

Su Ming stroked his beard and stood in the darkness beyond the light. "A vegetative state?"

"Based on contextual analysis and comparison with derived meanings, that is an apt description," Adjutant confirmed.

Dotty moved closer from behind him. "It was our fault. We moved too slowly. By the time we arrived, the fire had already grown too large."

Su Ming tilted his head to look at Dotty's face. Her pale skin looked livid in the darkness. He patted her shoulder and smiled.

"No. You completed your mission very well. I'm pleased."

"But..." Dotty looked confused, her brows knitting together.

"Save the land and lose the people; lose both people and land."

Su Ming turned to look at Magda on the operating table. This operating table was a knockoff of Batwoman's Final Machine. It looked exactly the same, but had far fewer functions. Adjutant was Cybertronian life, after all, not some medical AI.

Anya stepped closer as well. She could not let Dotty bear the responsibility alone. "Save the people and lose the land; keep both people and land?"

Su Ming lightly tapped her on the head. "Not bad. You've even learned to answer first. Looks like you understand the true meaning of this test."

Anya rubbed the top of her head and smiled sheepishly. "You wanted to verify whether we had completely escaped the Red Room's brainwashing, right?"

"Mm. They always treat agents as expendable tools, stressing that missions must be completed regardless of the