I can’t even remember who you are, and our relationship is still very good?
Confounded by Leon’s whimsical logic, Atifie opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. She had to return him an awkward smile.
"Oh... I’m really sorry then..."
"No worries, I forgive you."
Should I not have bothered talking to him?
Finding her brain unable to keep up with Leon’s thinking, Atifie immediately felt the urge to retreat. She coughed dryly and then took the initiative to speak:
"Um... my brainstem mapping isn’t finished yet, so I won’t disturb you. Let’s chat another time."
"It’s fine, I don’t mind interruptions."
As if not understanding the underlying meaning of Atifie’s words, Leon immediately stepped forward and grabbed her wrist when she turned to leave.
Although not sure what means the Scorpio director was under, or why he couldn’t wake up after being kicked painfully, the guy who couldn’t wake up after being kicked there probably had something wrong with his soul.
Now Atifie, though perhaps not as formidable as future Atifie 00, as the developer of Soul Encoding Technology, certainly understood souls better than I do.
Frightened by Leon’s actions, Atifie wanted to shout, but then saw Leon lift his leg and pick up the tall thin man who was lying on the ground asleep, cradling him to her face.
"For the sake of our good relationship, could you help me with something?"
"Help me wake him up."
Holding the Scorpio director forward, Leon said:
"He’s been affected by your Soul Encoding Technology... um... influenced, and shortly after breaking free due to emotional overload, he fainted without any words. Can you help revive him?"
Affected by Soul Encoding Technology?
Upon hearing Leon’s words, Atifie was momentarily stunned, then replied hesitantly:
"But... my Soul Encoding Technology is only scheduled for its first human trial next Tuesday, where was he affected?"
"..." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt
Damn... it seems I’m actually ’too early.’
Seeing the bespectacled lady showing suspicion, Leon paused for a moment, then switched to [Master Performer], sighed, and said:
"Got caught... Alright, I didn’t want to mention it, but we are actually not from this era."
Despite considering a million possibilities for his answer, the bespectacled lady was dumbfounded at this development and froze.
To have her ’treat’ the Scorpio director and help him escape painting, Leon began spinning wild tales:
"The future Crolock Kingdom went through a catastrophic crisis where most of the royal family were killed by machine intelligence. Six royal family armies were defeated, and Research Zone 1 was bombed into ruins.
Fortunately, future Princess Feiliya was exceptional, leading people to resist and defeat the controlled armies, nearly achieving victory.
But seeing the situation was unfavorable, the machine intelligence sent this controlled Cleaner, using the time machine developed in Zone 1, aiming to eliminate Princess Feiliya early and extinguish Crolock Kingdom’s rebellion.
He broke free from Soul Code’s control due to unforeseen circumstances, but soon fainted, and machine intelligence sent stronger chasers to attack Princess Feiliya anytime..."
After fabricating a space-time travel story following [Terminator]’s template, Leon earnestly spoke to the dumbstruck Atifie, holding the sleeping Scorpio director:
"In short, that’s the story. Whether he wakes up now is tied to the future destruction of Crolock Kingdom, so if you have time, could you help save him?"
Do I even have a choice? After all you said, not saving him would be like personally destroying Crolock Kingdom...
Giving Leon a skeptical glance, Atifie remained silent, picking some copper pipes from the brain model and placing them against the Scorpio director’s head.
Though Leon’s claim sounded far-fetched, it was somewhat plausible and couldn’t completely dismiss the chance he was a time traveler.
While other parts might be untrue, the Soul Encoding technology couldn’t be faked. As the only one fully mastering the technology, she might as well check the man’s status.
If the waveform feedback through Nebwaves confirmed traces of Soul Encoding Technology, it would prove his statements true, verifying they are time travelers!
"Click, click, click..."
With Atifie’s operations, copper tubes linked to wires gently wavered, displaying erratic waveforms in equipment under the brain model. Observing data instruments closely, Atifie’s eyes widened in shock.
It’s real! This person’s soul indeed had traces of Soul Encoding!
From Atifie’s expression, Leon knew she began believing him, "anxiously" urging:
"Edward’s power is crucial, can you revive him?"
"His condition... is a bit complicated."
Receiving too much information promptly left Atifie muddled-headed, she took off glasses and rubbed her temples:
"This person’s soul is incredibly strong. If a normal soul is a puff of smoke, his soul is like diamond, overwhelmingly hard, making Soul Code unengraveable but sticking like a ’sticker’ on the outside.
The controlling machine intelligence knew this instability, fearing accidental breakaway, added redundancies to the Soul Code.
In simple terms, if he attempts to disengage, those ’stickers’ would burst and cover his soul’s exterior, cutting off all perception..."
"Simpler than that, can you or can you not save him?"
"Can save, but there’s no urgency."
"I estimate unlocking those Soul Codes would take around three days. But given his soul strength, he might wake within a day or two even unsaved, so leaving it alone is an option."
A day or two to wake... by then it might be too late, the stakes might be lost!
After Atifie’s response, Leon couldn’t help but show a dark expression.
He already took Feiliya out, and if he drew Feiliya into this painting and then followed with entry, the Crolock royal family would be extinct, drastically diminishing Watcher’s Palace’s effect!
However, trapped in painting, one could likely rely on [Silver Dagger of Cutting] to break the world, but the constantly sleeping Scorpio director could do it. What should I... hum...
Wait! Maybe this could work!