Mid-March, Tokyo, Bunkyo Ward, Hongo.
The doorbell rang once, and the door was quickly opened from the inside.
Satsuki stood outside the door, wearing a light-colored cropped jacket, her long hair draped casually behind her shoulders, a gentle smile on her face.
Chizuru stood quietly behind her, holding the small bag that Satsuki usually carried when going out.
Emi, who had opened the door, froze for half a second, her eyes lighting up instantly.
"Satsuki-chan!"
She did not even bother looking at her shoes, instead lunging forward, wrapping her arms around Satsuki and rubbing her face against Satsuki's shoulder a few times.
"I missed you so much... You did not even tell me about your graduation ceremony."
Satsuki was pushed back half a step by the impact, raising her hands to steady Emi's waist to keep them both from falling over at the doorway.
"I heard that Satsuki-chan's speech at the graduation ceremony was super cool."
Emi finally looked up, gazing at Satsuki with eager eyes, her lips pouting slightly in grievance.
"It is a pity I did not see any of it."
She had been holed up in the University of Tokyo research lab for the past few days, and by the time she heard the news from Shimomura, the graduation ceremony was already over.
Shimomura had no interest in the content of the speech and his retelling was quite perfunctory, repeating over and over, "Satsuki was publicly recruiting people at the school, and she scared the principal half to death."
Emi later asked a few other people, and the versions she heard got more and more exaggerated.
By last night, there were already rumors that Satsuki had announced at the graduation ceremony that the Saionji family was going to take over all the factories in Tokyo.
"Your project was at a critical juncture, so I did not have anyone notify you."
Satsuki reached out and poked her forehead.
"Did you not say so yourself?" Satsuki cleared her throat and imitated Emi's usual tone at the company, "No one is allowed to disturb me for the next few days."
Hearing Satsuki imitate her tone, Emi's ears turned slightly red, but she still did not let go, continuing to look up at her with those big, watery eyes.
Satsuki met her gaze for a moment, then finally sighed helplessly.
"Alright, tell me, what kind of compensation do you want?"
Emi, as if she had been waiting for this line, immediately leaned in a little closer.
"I want a kiss..."
Before she could finish, Satsuki had already flicked her forehead with her finger.
"You little brat, you are pushing your luck."
Satsuki pushed Emi, who was still clinging to her, away and walked past her into the room.
Emi stood by the door, clutching her forehead, and looked at Chizuru with a wronged expression.
"Chizuru-san..."
"Ms. Suzuki."
Chizuru nodded slightly at her, closed the door behind her, and followed Satsuki inside.
Emi stood there for two seconds, and realizing Chizuru had no intention of comforting her, she had no choice but to rub her forehead and chase after them.
"Emi, are you getting used to living here?"
Satsuki's voice came from the living room.
"Yes! It is great!"
Emi quickened her pace, stepping onto the soft carpet as she entered the living room.
Satsuki had already taken off her jacket and was leaning against the sofa.
She looked around and noticed that the apartment was quite different from the blueprints she had seen last time.
Several workstations were set up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window facing the University of Tokyo.
The high-end solid wood table that originally came with the room had been pushed to the wall, and the large dining table was covered with various blueprints, floppy disks, and disassembled electronic equipment.
On the other end of the sofa lay two open professional journals, with a roll of freshly used solder pressing them down.
The decorative painting that the Group had specifically hired someone to select was still hanging on the wall, though one of them was already half-covered by white wires.
Emi did not feel there was anything wrong with the room at all.
She walked over and sat down next to Satsuki, her body almost pressing against Satsuki's.
"It is really comfortable living here. All the facilities are very convenient, and it is very close to both the school and the company. When I come back late from the research lab, the people downstairs even arrange a car for me."
As she spoke, she pointed to the terminal embedded in the wall next to the entrance.
"That is very useful too. Messages from the school, the company, and downstairs are all left there. After I came back yesterday, I even found that the S.A. Security Department people had replaced the access control system again."
"They said the old system's card reading speed was a fraction of a second too slow, so they had to replace it."
Satsuki glanced in the direction she was pointing.
"Kain Hongo is one of the first buildings to be opened, so of course the S.A. Security Department will use it to test new equipment. You live on the top floor, so it is easiest to spot any problems."
Emi blinked.
"So I am a test subject too?"
"I gave you the top floor, so I have to get some usage reports in return, right?"
Satsuki said it as a matter of course.
"Next time the Systems Department people come by, remember to tell them about the problems you encounter while using it. Do not just let them in and then run back to your studio."
"Got it."
Emi agreed quickly, but her body had already sunk comfortably into the sofa.
Saionji · Kain · Hongo was one of the first high-end residential buildings completed in the Kain series.
During the peak of the bubble, Satsuki had ordered the sale of a large amount of unused land under the Saionji name.
In those years, land prices in Tokyo changed day by day.
Many consortiums were still buying up property everywhere, but Saionji was constantly offloading land in exchange for cash and overseas assets, and the area of land under the Group's name once shrank to the bottom among large consortiums.
Now, those companies that had scrambled to buy land were queuing up to ask banks for extensions.
The banks had more and more collateral on their hands, and half-developed high-end residences, commercial buildings on main streets, and old company land in prime locations were returning to the market.
Saionji Real Estate selected the ones with the best locations and clearest property rights, incorporating them into the "Saionji · Kain" series.
This series was only located in core areas of Tokyo with convenient transportation and superior environments.
Each building used its location as a suffix, and projects like Hongo, Kioicho, Azabu, and Shirokanedai were also successively entering the renovation or construction phase.
While the exterior and floor plans could be adjusted according to the location, the access control, communication, power supply, security, and lifestyle services all adopted the same rigorous standards, and new systems developed by the S.A. Security Department would be prioritized for installation and testing in these residences.
The building where Emi lived was officially named "Saionji · Kain · Hongo."
The main structure of the Hongo building had originally been completed, but the developer had run out of funds before it could open for sale.
After Saionji took over, they tore out the interior that had been mostly installed, re-laid the communication lines, and replaced the security, power, and residential equipment with the highest specifications available within the Group.
The number of top-floor residences was limited and reserved mainly for senior Group executives, core technical personnel, and long-term overseas experts.
Even if ordinary residents had the money, they might not necessarily qualify for residency.
And the reason for giving the top-floor suite here to Emi was that it was very close to the University of Tokyo; Emi did not have to travel across half of Tokyo to get to her lab, and it was also convenient to get to the S.A. Security Department headquarters in Shimbashi.
Top-floor residents also had an elevator that went directly to the roof, which was originally intended by Satsuki as housing for the Group's core personnel.
Emi had little interest in land, property rights, or apartment brands.
She was more concerned about whether the lines in the wall were fast enough, if the power supply was stable, and whether the security personnel downstairs would stop the strange equipment she bought from Akihabara.
"Thank you, Satsuki-chan."
Emi turned her head and looked at her earnestly.
"I really like this gift."
"You are an important employee of this Group, so of course you should enjoy employee benefits."
Satsuki sat up straight, reached out to cup Emi's cheeks, and squeezed them toward the center.
"You must work hard to create value for this Group, do you hear me?"
Emi's face was squeezed out of shape, but she had no intention of pulling away.
"I know, I will work hard."
Satsuki felt it was a nice sensation and squeezed for a while longer.
"You are not allowed to dodge this either; providing amusement for the Group's helmsman is also a very important job."
Emi let her pinch and knead away, mumbling incoherently about how much work she had completed recently.
By the end, even she could not hear herself clearly, so she could only try to open her eyes wide to show her attitude.
Chizuru stood to the side, already accustomed to the scene before her.
She glanced at the time, and once Satsuki had finally had her fun, she stepped forward to tidy up the jacket draped over the arm of the sofa.
Satsuki let go, looking with satisfaction at the red marks left on Emi's cheeks, and then stood up.
"Alright, let us go."
Emi raised her hand to rub her face and stood up as well.
"I am ready, but where are we going, Satsuki-chan?"
Satsuki was already walking toward the entrance.
"To Odaiba."
"Odaiba?"
Emi followed behind, thinking for a moment, then suddenly stopped.
"Is the computer cluster under Saionji Tower being turned on?"
Satsuki looked back at her.
"That is right. The first phase of machines is undergoing overall testing today. Shimomura has already gone, and now we are just waiting for you."
"Really?"
Emi's voice went up an octave.
She did not care about her cheeks, which had been pinched red, and hurried to catch up to Satsuki's side.
"It is built already? Is it the i860 parallel array we are working on with Intel? The interconnects are done? Is the storage system all connected?"
She asked quickly, questions popping out one after another.
She had been involved in the design and manufacturing process of this equipment all along.
How the processing nodes were arranged, how tasks were split, how failed nodes should exit operations—Emi had seen the detailed plans.
A significant portion of the scheduling program written for it within the S.A. Security Department came from her and Shimomura.
When the equipment was shipped from the United States to Japan, she even checked the manifest every day, terrified that customs or the shipping company might lose any of the crates.
She knew what would appear under Odaiba.
Precisely because she knew, she was even more eager to see it with her own eyes.
The five hundred plus nodes on the blueprints were just squares after all, and the numbers in the operation logs could not be touched.
Only when the machines were truly arranged in the server room and all the indicator lights lit up together would she be able to confirm that the thing she and Shimomura had been fussing over for so long was truly finished.
"Of course it is that one."
Satsuki pressed the elevator call button next to the entrance.
"The computing center is built at the bottom of the tower, so the construction sequence was naturally prioritized. Saionji Tower is almost topped out; starting the overall testing now is actually considered slow."
"Then let us hurry over!"
Before the elevator arrived, Emi was already standing at the door, turning back to urge Satsuki.
"It would not be good to keep Mr. Shimomura waiting too long. He is definitely already started testing secretly, and he might even change my program first."
Satsuki walked over slowly, watching Emi, who was so impatient she looked like she wanted to pry the elevator doors open, and could not help but laugh.
"What are you rushing for? The machines are not going to run away on their own."
"That is not necessarily true, Satsuki-chan."
Emi suddenly remembered something, her excited expression tinged with a bit of worry.
"By the way, Satsuki-chan, is not the Touchstone DELTA a model customized by the US government? This set we are working on with Intel, although we had our own factories involved in manufacturing and the structure has been modified, the core concept is still very close."
She lowered her voice, as if discussing a secret operation that could happen at any moment.
"Will the Americans suddenly regret it and snatch the machines back?"
The elevator arrived, and the doors opened to both sides.
Satsuki walked into the car, turned around, looked at Emi standing outside, and thought seriously for a moment.
"It is actually possible."
Emi's expression immediately became tense.
Satsuki continued:
"Maybe the moment we arrive at Odaiba, American agents will jump down from the sky and carry the whole set of machines back to Washington."
Emi froze.
"That machine weighs several tons, right?"
"And?"
"Do you mean Captain America when you say American agents?"
Satsuki finally could not help it and laughed out loud.
"Exactly, so why are you even considering such a problem?"
She reached out, pulled Emi into the elevator, tidied up her turned-up collar, and buttoned the top button of her jacket.
"I have already taken care of things on the American side. There are formal documents for the equipment export, technology licenses, and the parts Intel is involved in. No one is going to come to Odaiba to move the machines over this."
Emi lowered her head, watching Satsuki's fingers as she straightened her clothes.
A high-end apartment, a residence near the University of Tokyo, the computing equipment she wanted to use, and Satsuki coming to pick her up in person.
She suddenly felt that she was probably the happiest person in the world.
"Satsuki-chan, you are so kind."
Satsuki smoothed out the last wrinkle for her and retracted her hand with satisfaction.
"As long as you know."
Emi was just about to smile when she heard Satsuki continue:
"Stay at Odaiba for these next few days; there is a lot of work waiting for you there."
The smile on Emi's face froze.
Satsuki turned her head, pretending not to see her reaction.
"I have already had someone ask for leave on your behalf at the school, and the materials from your lab will be delivered to Odaiba this afternoon. With the new system running as a whole for the first time, there will definitely be a lot of things to change later. You and Shimomura should just dedicate yourselves to the company for the next few days."
"Wait a minute, Satsuki-chan, how come I know absolutely nothing about this?"
"Now you do."
"Then the things I brought..."
"Chizuru has already had people prepare them."
Emi looked at Chizuru, who was standing behind them.
Chizuru nodded calmly.
"Your change of clothes, research materials, and commonly used equipment will be delivered to Odaiba before this evening. The leave procedures at the University of Tokyo research institute have also been completed."
Emi opened her mouth, only to realize that everything had already been arranged.
She seemed to have been "kidnapped" again... Why did she say "again"?
The elevator continued to rise, the floor numbers quickly skipping past the eighteenth floor.
There was a closed-off area above the top-floor residence; ordinary residents' magnetic cards could not make the elevator continue to run.
After Satsuki entered, the indicator lights on the control panel lit up automatically.
A moment later, the elevator came to a steady stop.
When the doors opened, a glass-enclosed corridor appeared first.
The March wind kept buffeting the glass.
Outside the isolation door at the end of the corridor, a dark gray helicopter was already parked on the roof.
Several S.A. Security Department personnel stood guard at the edge of the landing area, ground crew were conducting final checks, and the rotors were beginning to turn slowly.
Emi's attention immediately shifted from "being arranged to work for several days in a row" to the helicopter.
Satsuki took the earmuffs from Chizuru and handed them to her.
"For the next few days, work hard."
Emi looked at the earmuffs, then at Satsuki, and suddenly smiled too.
She took the earmuffs, put them on, stood up straight, and raised her hand in a sloppy salute.
"Yes, Boss!"