Chapter 40: Icarus

January 17, 2074, 23:30

"I heard this place once belonged to Biotechnica?"

"Yes, Mr. Paul," Zhang Xian'an replied with a smile, his back straight against the seat.

"Snatching a hefty chunk of meat from those Americans—not bad." The man called Paul leaned back on the leather sofa, chuckling as he clapped lightly.

"My honor, sir." Zhang Xian'an wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowering his eyes, daring not to make even the slightest contact with the man's soul-seizing blue gaze.

"Enough small talk." Paul tapped lightly on the sofa's armrest.

The sound of fingers striking the leather surface lingered, clearly audible in the silent office.

"Of course, Mr. Paul." Zhang Xian'an nodded, lifted the silver briefcase at his feet, and gently placed it flat on the table between them.

"CPH-4, the latest product our Zhang Group is about to launch."

As he spoke, he opened the briefcase.

Countless blue granules formed a small patch of azure sea, quietly contained within a transparent plastic bag.

"Medicine?"

"Simply put, taking this drug can greatly unlock the potential of the human brain..."

"Become smarter?"

"Become more rational, more wise, and effectively cure Cyberpsycho..."

"Sounds like a broad market..." Paul smiled, slowly picking up the packet of drugs and examining it carefully under the bright overhead lights.

Each pill, bound together in the packaging, faintly reflected beautiful arcs of light, as if one had clenched a cluster of brilliant stars in the palm of their hand.

"Side effects?"

"According to experiments..." Zhang Xian'an looked out the window at the pouring rain, stating word by word, "It possesses a certain degree of addictiveness."

"Ha." Paul returned the drugs to their place and tapped lightly on the table three times.

"Not bad; I can consider investing in this project." He paused, then continued, "However... the observation periods for your experimental data are all too short..."

"I don't want to see those dear customers taking this medicine only to have their lifespans shortened as a direct result; you understand what I mean, right?"

"Understood, Mr. Paul." Zhang Xian'an breathed a sigh of relief, involuntarily raising his eyebrows, a smile playing on his lips.

Billions in abundant cash were about to pour down on him like a flood, greatly benefiting his own influence within the Group.

"As for the issue of data collection cycles..." He gently stroked his chin, "Our company has just found a subject suitable for long-term experimentation..."

"Then, a pleasant cooperation?"

"A pleasant cooperation."

January 18, 2074, 00:00

A high-end café in Westbrook Japantown

"Yahweh... Yahweh!"

"Has he been like this all night?"

"He's been getting stranger and stranger these past few days..."

Hita sat beside Yahweh, pressing her fingers back and forth against her brow in distress.

"I've seen it in the files: middle-aged husbands, to escape the increasing demands of their young wives, automatically sleep like dead pigs once night falls..."

"Am I that kind of person?"

Hita frowned, her pretty nose twitching, waving her hands back and forth in the air, eager to prove her innocence.

Lucy took a sip of her hot drink and shook her head.

"That's not necessarily certain."

She chuckled, her face full of teasing.

Hita gave up her meaningless struggle and, along with the slumbering Yahweh, collapsed onto the comfortable sofa cushions.

Seeming to find the ornate chandelier overhead a bit glaring, the silver-haired girl shielded her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Upset?" Lucy held a porcelain cup emitting pure white steam, her ten fingers pressed tightly against its surface, greedily drawing warmth from the cup.

"He keeps lying to me... We clearly agreed... I feel so useless... I can't help him with anything..." Hita murmured, letting out a long sigh.

"I'm actually quite envious of you..." Lucy said softly, bringing her face close to the rippling surface of the liquid, using the rising mist to conceal her expression.

"Oh?"

Just as she expected, Hita immediately cast aside all feelings of loss—the silver-haired girl suddenly straightened her lazy spine, shielding the sleeping Yahweh tightly behind her, while her beautiful violet gem-like eyes instantly bloomed with a wary light.

Just like a cat guarding its food, simple and cute.

Thinking this, Lucy couldn't help but narrow her eyes, a faint smile appearing on the corner of her mouth.

"There, there... don't be nervous... don't be nervous." She repeated the low soothing words as if coaxing a child.

"Hmph..."

The bristling little kitten gradually relaxed, collapsing back onto the sofa.

"I'm just envious of the relationship between you and him..." Lucy lightly tapped her chin with a finger, organizing her words, "Your bond is unique."

"Unique?" Hita disdainfully patted Yahweh's sleeping cheek, then simply ran over to sit beside Lucy opposite her, squeezing in close.

"You and he are as unique as Earth and the Sun." Lucy caught Hita's mischievous little hand reaching out.

To prevent Hita from continuing her antics, Lucy simply pulled her forcefully into her embrace, binding her with both arms so she couldn't move.

"Ah..."

Hita squirmed a few times, only to helplessly accept the outcome of being ruthlessly suppressed by Lucy.

"Earth and the Sun?" The small silver head twitched, rubbing back and forth against Lucy's chin.

"Yes... Earth and the Sun..." Lucy ignored the various little movements of the girl in her arms and continued speaking, "Too far, and it freezes into solid ice; too close, and it burns to ash; only the distance between the Sun and the Earth is just right to nurture a unique civilization..."

"Since the first person curiously looked up at the starry sky, humanity has never stopped its steps in pursuing other civilizations..."

"Until the moment of The Great Collapse... until the moment when the global network, due to the death of the God of Hackers, completely paralyzed, humanity had not found the slightest trace of other civilizations..."

Lucy glanced at Xida in her arms, whose face was full of bewilderment, and let out a deep sigh.

"Humanity spent hundreds of years, exhausting a distance of nine hundred and thirty billion light-years, yet failed to find a second coexisting 'Earth and Sun'... Between you two, it is just that special; in the boundless starry sky of the entire universe, there is only this one pair."

Xida pressed her lips together, silently feeling the heavy weight unique to the entire universe.

"Then what about you, Lucy?"

"Me?"

"If he and I are Earth and the Sun, then what are you, Lucy?"

"Mercury." Realizing Xida's sincerity, she rarely revealed her true inner thoughts.

"Mercury?"

Without answering Xida's confusion, she continued speaking on her own. "Just like now, only by maintaining a certain distance from each other can you and he continue to walk forward lovingly..."

"So that's why he always has things he hides from me?" Xida rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I always feel like you know so much, Lucy... Did you know each other before?"

"It is precisely because we were too close... that is why I am Mercury..."

She said softly.

She had once wandered in the deepest shadows of the old network, witnessing countless AIs gather together to jointly sing the legend of that Supreme God.

"Anyway... just don't be too angry with him... Wait for the day when he tells you the whole truth."

"Mm..." Xida responded softly, hesitating to speak further.

"Do you like him?" After a long silence, she finally voiced the question that had been sinking in the bottom of her heart.

"It's not quite like... I just... am somewhat infatuated with the light on him." Lucy answered decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

Her long-standing pride and cold aloofness also did not allow her to arbitrarily intervene in this relationship.

"Actually... I don't care... I only want him... I don't care about anything else..." Xida lay against her chest, speaking in a low voice.

"I care about both of you, and he only cares about you; that is enough, isn't it?" Lucy smiled and rubbed Xida's soft little head.

"By the way, don't let him know what we talked about tonight..."

"Tch... Lucy is just not brave enough..."

"Still talking? I have absolutely no such thoughts about him!"