Investigation

The Law-Rulers sprinted toward the outskirts of the city, while the Invisible Law-Ruler's body and the wreckage of the T-1000 gradually turned transparent beneath the sunlight. At a time like this, the importance of invisibility became apparent. Dragging a huge pile of stuff toward the dangerous outskirts like students rushing to the cafeteria after class was practically shouting to everyone: I have a problem, come inspect me.

Martha raised a hand in a stopping gesture and reminded them through the mental link, "Let's stay at the hideout along the road for a few days before leaving." The other Law-Rulers traveling with her nodded.

The First Speaker told the investigation team through the mental link, "The comrades sent to support us are already waiting at the hideout. Make sure to protect the spoils."

A metal skull rested on the table. Its scarlet electronic eyes had gone dim, and a cable was connected to the socket atop its head.

"Did you find anything?" Martha asked.

The hacker Andre shook his head, his fingers clattering nonstop across the keyboard. "I'm still working on it. But you can watch its battlefield recordings. Maybe you'll find something useful."

The footage was a full seventy-five hours long, but that was no problem for a Law-Ruler. Her enhanced brain was enough for Martha to watch it all at double speed in one go.

Yet the contents were completely different from what Martha had imagined. She had assumed the footage would begin with the T-800 rolling off the production line. Instead, it opened in an office somewhere in a city. Clearly, the recordings were regularly processed. She stared intently at the screen, searching every detail for clues: seemingly irrelevant city views, or meaningless movements by the T-800.

"Hello, Tabashnikov." The blond man before the owner of the recording extended his hand.

"Hello." The T-800 extended a mechanical arm covered in a flesh-like outer layer. Its voice sounded magnetic, with a slight Eastern European accent.

The man handed over a document bearing the Fire Moth insignia. Its title was "Environmental and Production Bulletin 51.a," and beneath it, the signature read—Syktyvkar City Industrial Committee.

The blond man said, "Classification level 3C. File it in Zone C."

"Understood." The view shook slightly as the T-800 nodded.

From evening until late at night, Martha watched nearly six hours of repetitive footage in succession. That meant the robot had worked twelve hours straight, with only one hour of rest in between. As a Law-Ruler, she felt hatred toward Fire Moth's wartime work system for the first time.

Twelve hours!

Robots did not get tired, but did ordinary people not get tired? Did Dr. Mei not get tired?

Maybe Dr. Mei doesn't work at all, she thought scornfully. Then she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and continued staring at the screen after reopening them.

A black-haired man opened the door and handed over a document. Then he left without saying anything. The owner of the recording did not ask anything either. It placed the document where it belonged and got off work.

"This doesn't follow procedure." Martha rewound the footage to this suspicious part, then noted the location of the document. Over the next several dozen hours, the black-haired man appeared twice more.

Martha opened the mental link, and her clear voice entered someone's mind. "This is Martha. Comrade from Orsk, please go to Syktyvkar City and investigate the municipal archives information room's..."

Two days later, while Martha was still studying the contents of the recordings, a familiar voice sounded in her mind. "Comrade Martha, we can synchronize our vision now."

Martha replied through the mental link, "Begin."

Her vision suddenly spun as she shared sight with someone else. It was midnight in Syktyvkar City. Though the curtains had been drawn, moonlight still slipped through the gaps, leaving a slender silver thread across the floor.

It was not difficult for a Law-Ruler to read the words on documents in the dark. Orsk pulled out the first document from among the many files, "Industrial Raw Materials Transportation Record 12.G." It contained no unnecessary words, recording in detail the transport vehicles' starting points, routes, destinations, and a cargo manifest.

The second document was "Report on the Relocation of Industrial Equipment in Areas Surrounding Syktyvkar." Unlike the concise previous one, it was filled with useless bureaucratic language. However, it included an appendix containing a detailed annotated map of Syktyvkar, showing the transportation network. Most importantly, it marked the locations where industrial equipment was awaiting relocation, being relocated, and not to be relocated.

The final document was titled "Annual Report on Population Migration of This City." What made it special was that it was signed by the mayor. It also took more of Martha's energy to read, as its abundance of stock phrases concealed detailed data. Fortunately, one of its attachments was also a marked map of Syktyvkar.

Syktyvkar City had always actively participated in Fire Moth's industrial and population relocation plans. There was nothing strange about the contents of these documents.

Martha stroked her chin. Her instincts told her that the breakthrough lay somewhere within them. She said through the mental link, "Orsk, please place the two maps together."

"Understood."

"Then draw the transport convoy's route onto the population map." The population map was relatively simple, and doing so would make it easier for Martha to see clearly.

The transport convoy's destination was Syktyvkar City's heavy industrial district. Along the way, it passed through Kyshtym Town, an area under the municipal government's jurisdiction. The population map showed that the town's residents had been relocated half a year ago, while the industrial map showed that its equipment had also been fully moved away. Martha thought hard, her eyes fixed on the unchanging scenery outside the window.

Half an hour later, just as Martha was about to share the information with everyone, she closed her eyes, rubbed her forehead, and cursed under her breath. "I'm such an idiot."

Martha had noticed the irrationality in the convoy's route. If she had drawn the route onto the first map, she would have spotted the problem sooner. There was no need for the raw materials convoy to leave the main highway and detour through Kyshtym Town. There were no people there, much less factories in need of raw material supplies.

So why did it go to Kyshtym Town? That was the breakthrough.

She walked out through the door she had not opened for two days. Andre was sitting there in boredom, one hand supporting his chin while the other occasionally tapped at his laptop. The First Speaker had ordered him to assist Martha, while Martha had told him not to disturb her unless she came out.

Two days without being able to break something had bored this hacker to death. When he finally saw Martha emerge from the room, Andre's face lit up, before he quickly composed himself.

"What did you find?" Though they were face-to-face, they still communicated through the mental link.

Like a child who had found a chance to show off his toys, Andre launched into an endless stream of words. "I found a command code used to open some place. Besides that, there's also..."