Alice’s prophetic email shocked Clara beyond surprise, turning into an incomprehensible fear that even gave her goosebumps on her arms.
Predicting she’d eat barbecue was one thing, but she could even guess who she’d eat with, pinpoint the exact time, and even time it to the moment she took her first bite, sending a pre-scheduled email.
The unknown is daunting. Clara felt a deep-seated fear of the Hero Network from the bottom of her heart.
But this explained why the Hero Network could predict criminal activities and almost always release those commission missions ahead of time.
How was this even possible?
But in any case, such a result was certainly not good news for evil organizations.
If criminal activities could be predicted, it meant an increase in difficulty.
The Hero Network would inevitably be targeted and counterattacked by evil forces, and it wouldn’t be strange even if the Association itself was attacked.
Even with dozens of top-tier heroes stationed there, in the end, it was just an organization. If the evil forces united to form a criminal alliance, breaking the Association wouldn’t be impossible…
After all, this world operated on a law of balance between light and dark.
If the power of justice became too strong, weight would inevitably be added to the evil side to maintain balance.
Clara did not tell Lucia and Fran, who were eating with her, about this email. After all, it involved Alice. If she told Fran, she would get anxious, so she decided to tell her when they were alone.
“Phew, I’m full. Thanks, Dr. Fran~”
Clara pretended nothing had happened, but her clearly reduced appetite made Lucia and Fran aware that something was on her mind.
The three finished their barbecue and returned to the dorm. Fran followed along because she had something to say.
Clara understood, so she said:
“Are you asking for some time alone with Fran? I encountered something this morning, related to her personal matter…”
“Sorry, Lucia, can you give us a moment?”
“Oh, I thought something was off with you two. So I’m in the way.”
Since the three had left work early to eat barbecue, it was still early. Lucia, who had just returned to the dorm, scratched her head, then picked up her backpack and stood up.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go to Miss Anya’s place to hide out~ Good luck, Senior!”
‘What exactly is there to root for?’ Lucia gave Clara a thumbs up, then turned and left the dorm, leaving only the bouncing silhouette of her ponytail.
“You have a quite lively little sister~”
Fran said that, but Clara glared at her.
“Hey, don’t talk as if you’re much older. When it comes to age—”
Fran plucked a small tentacle from Clara’s hair and toyed with it in her hand.
“Hehe, then shouldn’t you be calling me ‘big sister’ now?”
“Stop joking around! Let’s talk business! Business!”
“Mm, what did you talk about with Alice this afternoon?”
“Besides the routine interview, she also showed me… the ‘miracle’ of the Hero Network?”
“Miracle?”
“The power to predict the future through the computational power of a supercomputer. My knowledge can’t comprehend that result, so I can only describe it as a miracle.”
Clara shrugged, pouted slightly, then took out her phone, pulled up the predictive email she received during the meal, and showed it to Fran.
“Take a look at this. What do you think the principle behind this thing is?”
“An email sent just as you were eating? The tavern is a public place, and there are surveillance cameras installed. With the Association’s authority, accessing the surveillance footage would be simple.”
But Fran said:
“Couldn’t it be that it saw you preparing to eat through the camera and sent the email then?”
‘I was stunned. Because I had trusted Alice too readily, I hadn’t considered that possibility.’
“That possibility can’t be ruled out either.”
‘Maybe the Hero Network wasn’t that powerful after all, and Alice was just putting on a show to make me believe it was amazing?’
‘Nyx had already warned you to be wary of Alice before.’
Nyx emerged looking wronged. Fran continued:
“Anyway, don’t scare yourself. Simulating the entire city’s variables and deducing the future through a computer is not impossible.”
“Cough, cough, only a possibility…”
“But it’s only theoretically possible. With current technology, it’s clearly impossible.”
Fran naturally couldn’t explain it either. She had never studied the “God’s Relic.” She pinched her chin and thought for a while, then gave up.
“Forget about the underlying principles of the Hero Network for now.”
“Hmph, you want to talk about ‘God’s Relic’?”
“…What if it’s technology beyond the era?”
“Since you’ve successfully registered and made contact with Alice, that’s already a smooth first step for our plan.”
Clara nodded and said:
“If that truly is an omniscient system, could Alice have learned my undercover identity through the Hero Network?”
“Ha, if she knew, you wouldn’t be sitting here telling me about it.”
“Mm.”
Fran crossed her legs on the sofa, propped her chin on her hand, and sucked on a lollipop.
“Next, actively accept commissions from the Hero Network and complete them. That should catch her attention again…”
“Then you can join the Hero Association on that momentum. That’s when our plan and the Undercover Department’s work will truly begin.”
“Sigh.”
‘Wondering what the future would bring, Clara couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.’
“Stop sighing. Honestly, we’ve been moving a bit too slowly.”
But just then, Clara’s phone on the table suddenly rang.
It was an unfamiliar number.
Exchanging a glance with Fran, Clara answered the call.
“Is this Miss Clara?”
The voice on the other end was a cold female voice, somewhat familiar, but Clara couldn’t place it at the moment.
“Uh, yes…”
“I am Alice.”
“Huh, Alice?!”
Clara quickly looked up at Fran, who then leaned close, pressing her ear against Clara’s head, eavesdropping by sandwiching the phone between their ears.
“Something happened on the Association’s side, but it’s not convenient to discuss over the phone. I wanted to ask about your situation first, in a personal capacity.”
“Something happened?”
‘Could it be that right after talking about the Hero Network, the Association was attacked by some evil organization?’
Alice continued:
“Can you meet me now? Or I can come to your place.”
‘No, if it were really an attack, she wouldn’t be calling me.’
“Is it that urgent?”
“The matter is a bit troublesome.”
Alice said that. Clara glanced at Fran, who nodded with a grave expression.
“Alright, let’s pick a meeting spot.”
Although she didn’t know what it was about, this was an opportunity to get closer to Alice.