Jennifer did indeed keep her promise to be very friendly to Elena, moving her out of that dark and gloomy room and into a sunny guest room, recharging her daily and regularly changing the body maintenance fluid in the tank.
“Is there anything else uncomfortable?” Jennifer half-squatted by the tank, asking the suspended android head, “Do you need the water temperature to be higher?”
“It’s fine.” Elena swam proficiently in the tank with the maintenance fluid: “If I were a pet fish, this kind of life would be considered perfect.”
Jennifer smiled.
“But I’m not a fish after all.” Elena swam to the edge of the tank: “What about my body?”
Jennifer stood up straight, dragged a chair from the side, and sat down, looking troubled: “I’m really sorry, it’s difficult for me to restore your body because there was no precedent before.”
Elena was not surprised: “Was the application denied? Or has my body already been destroyed?”
“It’s not destroyed,” Jennifer said, “Your body has a high intensity of modification and is of great research value, currently in our lab.”
It seemed that her hope of finding her own body was now very slim. Elena thought.
“But I can find you a discarded body to use temporarily, can I?” Jennifer quickly added.
“That’s fine.” Elena smiled: “After all, I’m a prisoner, so I should be grateful for this treatment. Thank you.”
Jennifer lowered her head in embarrassment: “I’m sorry for letting you down. However, I never thought that you were a frontline combatant of the Gear Corps. I didn’t expect such a major trading activity would involve only three people – did you offend someone?”
“Rather than who I offended, I’m more curious about how you got the trading information,” Elena said, almost pressing her head against the glass, staring at Jennifer without blinking, “And why did you choose to be our enemy?”
“Humans were incited to step forward and plug in the data cable, but they were stopped by the android: ‘Don’t. Jennifer has trained her, it’s not worth it.’
Elena asked again, ‘Is the squad leader important? What titles do you have that you only dare to speak ill of her behind her back?’
The two seemed to have made up their minds to ignore her. They sat on the sofa, each summoning their own bright blue floating screens, tapping on them.
‘I saw Jennifer also had one of these gadgets.’ Elena continued chattering, ‘Do players have a screen like this?’
‘You’re all players, right? But I see you’re not enjoying the game at all, each bearing deep grudges. Is the game difficult? If it’s so painful, just don’t play, it’s too much to torture yourself.’
‘Jennifer promised to give me her body, when will it come? Can you ask her for me?’
‘Okay, tell me the conditions for your game victory, maybe I can help? So you don’t get stuck and make me suffer here.’
The two players continued to ignore her, she talked to herself, not getting angry.
What could possibly interest them?
‘By the way, I encountered a robot that seemed to be a player.’ Elena casually said, ‘But she still can’t remember if she’s a player, I probably guessed wrong.’
Upon hearing this, the two players simultaneously looked up, exchanging glances. The human scoffed, ‘You? Know a robot that might be a player? If she doesn’t even remember herself, why would you suspect she’s a player?’
‘Because her facial parameters are very unique,’ Elena said truthfully, ‘Clearly should have a random appearance, but it seems like parameters were forcibly set, must look this way. So I guess, maybe for the gaming experience, players in the game also have to show their own faces.’
‘I have her picture here. Why don’t you take a look, do you know this player?’
The two players glanced at each other again.
Human: ‘You didn’t tell Jennifer about this?’
Elena: ‘She didn’t ask, so I didn’t say.’
Human: ‘…Initiating a player’s awakening can reward 500 points. I won’t let that wretched woman have it again.’
Android: ‘…If it’s true, I want a 70-30 split. I get seven, you get three.’
Human: ‘On what basis?’
Android: ‘Don’t you suspect her of deceit? Anyway, I’m willing to take the risk to extract her photo by plugging in the data cable. If we take the risk, naturally I should get more.’
Human: ‘Why can’t I go? If I go, I get seven, you get three!’
Elena sensed they were about to argue, afraid of attracting Jennifer, she quickly interjected, ‘I have no schemes! It’s just dangerous and scary here, and I wanted a couple more friends.’
‘Brothers, I’ll tell you this news. Don’t make me suffer, if you can help me turn on a screen to watch a movie to pass the time, that would be even better.’
‘Really, if you’re unsure, both of you come over, one plugs in the data cable, the other supervises. If I do anything suspicious, just kill me on the spot!’
The human looked at her suspiciously, while the android had already started walking towards her, ‘If you won’t go, I will.’
‘Wait! Let’s go together!’
The human picked up the electric baton on the table, familiar to Elena, and followed the android – in the Kabukicho, bar bouncers used such weapons to bring her down.
The android dipped its hand into the viscous maintenance liquid, plugged the data cable into the back of Elena’s head, connecting it to the room screen. Elena displayed the image of Rong Rong.”
I’m sorry. Elena said to Rong Rong in her heart, “If there’s no other way, for now, you are safe at the base and I can only sell you as intelligence.”
Whatever happens, X will definitely protect you wholeheartedly.
When the screen appeared, humans immediately exclaimed, “Ah!” The android asked, “How did you see her for real?”
Humans pointed to the bright face on the screen and said, “Haven’t you seen Teacher Lei’s livestream?”
“That sea king?” The android shook his head, “Not interested. Always flirting in games, seeking attention.”
Humans quickly defended their idol, “Teacher Lei is both skilled and good-looking! Other streamers get all bitter after failing in dungeons, but Teacher Lei’s livestreams are not only skilled but also eye-catching. Topping the livestream points leaderboard for a reason!”
The android still looked disdainful, “Okay, okay, Teacher Lei is the best. What does this have to do with that girl?”
Humans patiently explained, “A few dungeons ago, Teacher Lei met this female player named – named – Rong Yi.”
Elena listened carefully. So Rong Rong’s real name was Rong Yi, and X used to call her “Rong Rong” so affectionately; their relationship seemed deep.
“This Rong Yi is a newbie but really amazing!” Humans envied, “Why can Teacher Lei, already so skilled, meet a girl who’s both skilled and beautiful? Perhaps birds of a feather flock together.”
“Her gaming strategies are unique, and her innate skills are powerful enough for bosses to treat her respectfully!”
“Later, Teacher Lei teamed up with her and even made her the team leader. It shows how much he values her skills.”
The android pondered, “Is she that amazing? In this Cyberpunk dungeon, though we have many players, none stand out. Even our current leader just awakened early.”
“If we could find this Rong Yi and help her awaken,” he looked hopeful, “support her to become the new team leader. Not only will our success rate increase, but she’ll also become a trusted member. Then, no one, not even Jennifer, will ignore us.”
“Yes!” Humans were thrilled, “Who would have thought our opportunity would come knocking like this!”
Elena understood; Rong Yi was not just a player but also seemed quite famous and capable. They wanted to crown her as the new player leader, a change of leadership.
“I know where she is now,” Elena said. “But if you use violence against me, I’ll activate self-destruct and erase all the information I know.”
The android sneered, “With you like this, without a body and almost no means, you still want to threaten us? Let me tell you, we have removed all control devices from you. If you don’t want trouble, just tell us Rong Yi’s coordinates.”
Elena raised an eyebrow, “Really? Do you really think you removed all my control devices? As an advance team, do you think I only have one way to die?”
“If you don’t believe, you can try. If I die in front of you now, erasing all data, will Jennifer spare you?”
