Shu slowly and mechanically straightened up, his gaze never leaving the woman before him who "claimed to be Joyce."
Being repeatedly scrutinized with such a slightly invasive gaze, Joyce instinctively felt some discomfort.
However, she didn't speak up to stop him because she understood his gaze wasn't meant in that way.
The "Are you freaking kidding me?!" vibe emanating from him was so strong that even a Homu could probably sense it!
"...You're Joyce?" After a long silence, Shu finally spoke.
Joyce nodded earnestly.
Shu waved his hand, and a light screen materialized in the cave.
Still staring at Joyce, Shu pointed at the light screen. "If you're Joyce, then who is he?"
Seeing the light screen appear, Joyce's eyes narrowed slightly.
This clearly wasn't some kind of virtual projection technology, but a completely new power beyond their understanding.
Just like Shu's earlier sword strike that missed, they could surpass it, replicate its effects, but they couldn't make an exact one-to-one copy.
A team leader... even if this was their strongest combatant, possessing such strength meant Fire Moth was an entirely new faction they had never encountered.
"That's me," Joyce said, glancing at the image on the screen and nodding.
"That's you?!" Shu's voice suddenly rose, laced with disbelief.
"Hmm?" Darwin glanced at the light screen from behind, then turned to look at Joyce with interest, letting out an amused chuckle.
"Joyce, isn't that your male body?" Darwin said, chuckling. "It seems the world remembers you more by that form."
As he spoke, Darwin even shook his head regretfully. "True... after all, you preferred that body yourself. If it weren't for that body... alright, alright, I'll shut up, I'll shut up..."
Joyce retracted her threatening gaze, clearing her throat with a hint of embarrassment. "That is indeed me. You heard the reason; I possess two bodies. It's just that the body I'm currently using doesn't often appear before others."
This explanation... was somewhat acceptable.
Mainly because, compared to the previous situation, Joyce's current explanation seemed far more palatable.
What, was he supposed to accept the previous implication? If one exception occurred, there could easily be a second!
He really didn't want to imagine encountering a burly Cocolia or a male Rita.
He hadn't even asked if Kiana's parent was Siegfried or Cecilia! What if those two had swapped roles too?!
Could he accept it?
Accepting it didn't mean he was willing to think about it!
Taking a deep breath, Shu let out a long exhale, releasing the tension in his chest.
"Sorry, I was too tense..." Shu sat down, his gaze finally moving away from Joyce.
"Mm," Joyce nodded. "I witnessed your experience up there firsthand. It was your first time suffering such a blow, wasn't it?"
Shu nodded silently.
Then, Joyce extended her hand towards Shu.
"Well then, warrior from Fire Moth, can we sign a cooperation agreement?"
Shu's head snapped up, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
This tone... he was all too familiar with it.
Back when the crisis in ARC City hadn't been resolved, Ethics had approached him in Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical in a similar manner to form a partnership.
Was this just a characteristic of people from the same place? For an AI and a human to have such strong similarities was truly...
Wait a minute... Wasn't Joyce also a Herrscher?
"Joyce..." Shu began, his voice low. "Are you human?"
This time, it was Joyce's turn to be silent. Behind her, Darwin turned his head, trying to stifle a laugh, but failed and burst out laughing.
"Pfft—I told you he'd ask that..."
Joyce glared back at Darwin before replying resignedly.
"Indeed, I am not human... I am the world's first general-purpose, self-learning digital lifeform," Joyce stated.
"AI?" Shu asked, puzzled.
"Lifeform," Joyce emphasized repeatedly.
"Are you also an AI?" Shu frowned.
"No, I don't require a fixed hard drive for support," Joyce shook her head. "My existence is the entire virtual network."
"Just like Ms. Ai-chan in the communication devices you use."
As she spoke, she pulled out a small device from under her cloak.
"Shu! Can you hear me?! Hello, hello?! Hello? Hello?!" Ai-chan's urgent voice, crackling with static, came from the device in Joyce's hand.
Shu looked at Joyce in surprise, then replied.
"It's me, Ai-chan. I'm alright."
"Really?! That's great!" Ai-chan exclaimed with delight. "Mei and the others are very worried about you, but they couldn't access this unfamiliar channel!"
"Also! We've actually been monitored all along! It's this channel's IP! All our conversations were clearly overheard by whoever is on this IP! Damn eavesdroppers!"
Shu glanced up at Joyce, then proactively cut Ai-chan off before she could continue her complaints.
"Alright, Ai-chan, can you still contact Mei and the others?"
"Of course! They're all fine!"
"Help me tell them I'm okay. I've met the leader of Anti-Entropy and we've reached an agreement... I'll find them. Tell them to protect themselves," Shu said after a moment's thought.
"Huh? Anti-Entropy? What's th—"
"Just relay the message for me. They'll understand," Shu said, then fell silent.
Joyce timely cut off the communication channel by simply crushing the mechanical device in her hand.
Only then did Shu, who had been tense all this time, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Mei and Bronya were safe, and he could still contact them. That was truly a stroke of luck amidst all the chaos.
But Kiana...
Shu, having mostly calmed down, thought for a moment.
In Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon, after Princess Homu-mi was captured, aside from having her freedom restricted, she suffered little harm.
And Sirin, as the main instigator of all this, had repeatedly emphasized "following the story" in front of him. So, Kiana should be in no real danger.
But that didn't mean they could plan leisurely. It would be fine if Kiana remained asleep until he rescued her. But if Kiana woke up early, there was no telling what she might do deep in enemy territory...
However, Shu was certain of one thing... In his experience, without someone reminding her beforehand, Kiana would absolutely not follow the storybook and passively wait to be rescued.
Shu couldn't help but sigh, reaching out and shaking Joyce's hand.
"Alright. I accept your cooperation."