After sending Sista, who wanted to stay by her side, on her way, Clara tidied up the guest room, which had become a mess from all the searching, and finally sat down on the sofa to think by herself.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
โClara-senpai, Iโm here!โ
From the voice alone, she knew it was Lucia bringing breakfast.
Sista actually asked her if the culprit could possibly be Lucia or Fran.
But it was understandableโjust as she would never suspect Lucia or Fran, Pure White Storm wouldnโt suspect any of the staff team, including Ms. Damo.
That was why there had been that question before Sista left.
โIโm coming.โ
Clara opened the door and glanced around behind Lucia.
After confirming there were no signs of being followed, she pulled Lucia inside and quickly closed the door.
โNix, help me keep watch.โ
โRoger.โ
Because Lucia was present, Nixโs voice came from the phone.
โAh, so Ms. Nix is also in Clara-senpaiโs phone?โ
After placing the breakfast tray on the long table facing the beach, Lucia muttered,
โSpeaking of whichโฆ where exactly is Ms. Nixโs core server? How can you use it in a resort with no internet?โ
โNix uses some special technology. I donโt really understand, youโll have to ask Fran.โ
Clara didnโt dare get into a technical discussion with top student Lucia, so she decided to toss it to Fran to make something upโฆ
In reality, if Lucia could return to Central City now, she wouldnโt be able to use Nixโs terminal app at all.
After all, Nixโs โserverโ was right inside Claraโs stomach, but there was no way Clara could tell her that.
โBy the way, where did Fran go?โ
Faced with this situation, Clara only wanted to discuss it with Fran.
She didnโt plan to tell Lucia about someone breaking into the guest roomโpartly to avoid alerting the culprit, and partly so Lucia wouldnโt worry.
Still, she was quite curious about Franโs whereaboutsโฆ
She hadnโt seen her all morning. What was she up to?
โOh, Ms. Fran is still in the guest room! She got her hands on the Sigma Series exoskeleton parameters last night, so sheโs trying to analyze useful technology.โ
โSo you guys really went to be tech thieves, huh!โ
And you actually managed to steal something?
Letโs rewind to 9 p.m. last night.
After the meeting, the Sigma Heroโs maintenance engineer didnโt let Lucia go back to sleep right away. Instead, she dragged her to the hangar.
The four Sigma Series exoskeleton armors were placed here. When the armor was removed, it looked like they were teleported away, but due to the effects of the solar storm, they couldnโt be sent back to the Sigma Company and instead had to be brought to Anya for repairsโฆ
Thatโs why a maintenance engineer needed to travel with them.
โSorry for dragging you to work overtime when youโre so tired, but your big sister is really pressed for timeโฆ Once this collaboration is over, if you have any problems, come find your big sister! Iโll even treat you to a meal, okay?โ
Apologizing as she dragged Lucia along, Anya had to get the exoskeletons back into working condition before tomorrow.
If not for the time crunch, she wouldnโt have invited a maintenance engineer from another company to help fix the Sigma Heroโs exoskeletons. Even if she wanted to, Okata Damo wouldnโt have agreed.
This time was a special case, but the work assigned to Lucia was just some basic checksโfinding the faulty parts of the exoskeletons. Such routine tasks could be handled even by an intern, but they would still lighten Anyaโs load quite a bit.
Anya really trusted Lucia, but it made Lucia herself feel a little awkward.
After all, she was here to be a thief.
She nervously asked, โUm, is it really okay for an outsider like me to touch Sigmaโs exoskeletons? Arenโt those company secrets?โ
It sounded a little too suspicious, but Anya didnโt notice.
She simply replied, โTechnology requires accumulation. If it can be stolen just by taking a quick look, it doesnโt count as real technology, right?โ
Normally, outsiders would never be allowed to touch Sigmaโs exoskeletons. But right now, Anya would borrow a catโs paw if she could.
Unfortunately, what she borrowed this time was a thiefโs hand.
Although she felt a little sorry for Anya, Lucia decided to go through with Franโs plan. After all, she was an employee of Dream Witch Company and had to put the companyโs interests first.
Of course, she was personally curious about Sigmaโs technology too.
If she could make use of itโeven if she only picked up some superficial ideasโit might help her improve her graduation projectโฆ
She felt guilty, but not that much.
Like most ordinary people, Lucia wasnโt particularly righteousโshe just had to finish Anyaโs assigned inspection work before doing anything shady.
So she secretly tapped open a certain app on her phone.
โMs. Anya, Azure Cavalierโs Faraday shield has been damaged. If he uses electromagnetic radiation, he might shock himselfโฆ Good thing I found this early, right? This could be serious, couldnโt it?โ
While Anya was still fiddling with the repair equipment, Lucia had already finished checking the first exoskeletonโher efficiency was ten times higher than Anya expected.
โYeah, that could be serious. Iโll handle it after this.โ
At the time, Anya hadnโt thought much of itโshe just assumed Lucia had found a problem by chance.
โVerdant Echoโs solid hologram module is also malfunctioning. It might create doppelgangers with appearances or clothing different from the original. Iโm not great with softwareโcould we have Ms. Fran assist remotelyโฆ?โ
โNo need, minor glitches can wait until weโre backโฆ Wait, how are you so fast?โ
Only then did Anya look up at Lucia, but the latter was simply connecting her phone to the exoskeleton, seemingly running a system scanโฆ Hm?
โWhy are you using your own phone to scan the system? The dedicated scanner should be more powerful, right? It should be faster than your phone.โ
She didnโt suspect information theftโafter all, trying to crack the exoskeletonโs core system with just a phone was pure fantasy. Even if connected, a phone would only show information necessary for maintenance.
โI-Iโm not used to those advanced devicesโฆ I have an app Dr. Fran made, so itโs really fast for me!โ Lucia explained evasively.
โJust do it however youโre used to, but be careful! As maintenance engineers, our work is a matter of life and death for the heroes!โ
Confident in her own companyโs firewalls and systems, Anya didnโt object.
โCrimson Star Generalโs fire control unit is burnt out, so thereโs a risk of a misfireโyouโd better remove the entire firepower assemblyโฆ Ah, the tritium battery membrane is damaged too! The hydraulic rod is deformed!โ
โWait! Arenโt you a bit too fast at this?!โ
Seeing Lucia uncover a string of issues, Anya couldnโt stay calm any longer.
After all, this went beyond her experience and common sense as a maintenance engineer.
Was Lucia just desperate to get off work early?
That Dr. Fran appโฆ was it really that fast?
Being a bit too obvious there.