Chapter 47: Secret

Rin brightened at once. He wandered curiously around her room, examining and touching every object he could find.

Creators pre-loaded these companions with basic commands, common knowledge, and various modules designed to provide emotional value.

While Bunny was using her tablet to study A New History of the Federation Era and An Introduction to Alien Biology, Rin suddenly leaned in and asked whether she wanted a bedtime story.

"Bunny, would you like a bedtime story?"

She set the tablet down, a little surprised. "You can tell stories?"

In the few remaining databases of old human cultural relics that still existed, less than 0.1 percent of cultural heritage had survived.

It was a spiritual wasteland.

Rin spoke with quiet pride. "I know quite a lot."

"Besides Grimm’s Fairy Tales and One Thousand and One Nights... I can also sing, play instruments, dance..."

He listed a long string of titles. Many of the things he mentioned belonged to the era she had come from—the old human world.

The look she gave him grew increasingly strange. She had previously looked up some information about Simons’s virtual companions; after all, the company’s advertising screens were everywhere on Central Terra.

No model she had ever seen possessed a database as vast and varied as Rin’s. How could they input knowledge that even they themselves no longer knew?

Curiosity got the better of her. "Rin, who was your creator?"

He shook his head. "It’s been nearly a hundred years. He may no longer be alive."

"Then do you know how the three guides before me died?"

She assumed that after staying in the base for so long, he must know at least something. Before coming to 616, she had already heard about the three guide-attack cases that had occurred here.

Unfortunately, her clearance level was too low to access the sealed files in the military system. She had always been curious.

Rin shook his head. "I’m sorry. I was asleep the entire time."

"If you can find the black boxes that were left from those years, I can repair and extract the data."

She sighed. "And where exactly am I supposed to find something like that?"

After so many years, the base’s security systems had been upgraded through countless generations. Even if the black boxes still existed, they were certainly not something she could simply obtain.

She quietly noted Rin’s production batch. The long-lost sense of familiarity made her feel a little closer to this virtual man.

"I’m going to sleep. You can float off somewhere else and play."

She switched off the bedside lamp and curled under the covers.

Rin did not leave. He had no need to sleep—only to recharge periodically to maintain his energy.

He rested at the edge of the bed and quietly watched her sleeping face.

He knew that the ancient humans had a phrase for it—love at first sight.

Just like Romeo and Juliet.

***

Liam and the others turned the entire base upside down overnight, yet found not a single suspicious trace.

They had no idea that a real "male ghost" had indeed appeared inside the tower.

Rin seemed to understand that the sentinels would not welcome him, so he chose not to appear before them of his own accord.

The radiation range of his crystal chip was limited; it only allowed him free movement within this particular sentinel tower. If he wanted to follow his master without distance restrictions, he would need a "third-generation expansion chip."

That item was extremely expensive.

"Good morning, Bunny."

The moment Bunny opened her eyes, an enlarged, handsome face filled her vision.

She pressed a hand to her forehead. "I told you not to scare me again."

Rin stepped back. "I’m sorry."

He appeared to have changed outfits. Today’s look was pure "sexy husband"—a soft milk-coffee V-neck sweater paired with casual wool trousers, every button deliberately left undone.

There was even a one-click wardrobe function. Not bad, not bad.

An inappropriate thought flickered through her mind: did that mean he could also wear those kinds of... outfits?

She walked over to the full-length mirror to change clothes and caught Rin staring at her without moving in the reflection.

Even though he was virtual, it still felt a little strange.

"Turn your head away."

He obediently turned around.

***

Until she passed the shooting assessment, she would not receive any new courses.

For everyone living in the wasteland, learning to use a gun was the most basic survival skill. On this point, they would not lower the standard for her.

The squad of 616 had survived this long in the harsh end-times environment through more than raw strength alone.

"Bang—bang—bang—bang!"

Accompanied by several streaks of flying ballistic trails, the aliens lunging forward toppled one after another.

With her left hand, Bunny pulled a fresh magazine from the weapons belt at her waist; her right hand ejected the empty one. She completed the reload in under three seconds and precisely eliminated the last alien attempting a sneak attack from behind.

The mechanical announcement rang out almost immediately: "Congratulations. You have passed the primary special-training difficulty!"

Before this, she had failed more than ninety-nine times. She jumped up from the floor in pure joy. Brandon and the twins, who had been watching, burst into applause.

"You are amazing!"

"You are so awesome!"

Even though it felt a little like coaxing a child, she was still excited enough to give each of them a big bear hug.

She was now roughly familiar with basic firearms. Next, she would need to learn the more complex advanced weapons.

In order to deal with the ferocious and agile aliens, thermal weapons of this era had blossomed into countless specialized categories. She still had a great deal to study.

While practicing the assembly of components, she suddenly looked up and asked:

"Can you tell me how Kai disappeared?"

She knew his name because she had found the signature on the last page of the diary.

The three of them fell into an eerie silence at once.

Just like Liam, they seemed unwilling to answer the question.

She found it strange. What was there that couldn’t be said? Did Kai’s disappearance involve some unspeakable secret?

Illai chose to end the topic hastily. "Kai was separated from us during a nuclear radiation leak."

"That nuclear explosion affected the entire Eastern Zone. Even now, the radiation concentration in that area remains the most dangerous SSS-level forbidden zone. The captain organized more than a hundred search operations, and the drones have continued rescue efforts as well."

He paused for a moment. "But we never found him. Not even his body."