KU-Money searched its database for a moment before replying, "According to records, Camellya was indeed briefly a member of the Fractsidus in the past."
Lucian sneered and grabbed Camellya's delicate wrist. "So you really are a Fractsidus spy, aren't you?"
"Speak! What's your purpose in joining our Black Shores?"
KU-Money fell silent for a moment. "I didn't expect you to assimilate so quickly. You're already referring to it as 'our Black Shores'?"
Camellya scoffed. "He's just the type to say whatever suits the situation."
Lucian smirked. "I've always been a loyal member of Black Shores—loyalty is my brand!"
"And look at you! You actually joined the Fractsidus. You have no respect for Black Shores!"
Camellya pursed her lips. "To me, it makes no difference where I am..."
She reached out with her slender fingers and lifted Lucian's chin. "I didn't join Black Shores to save the world. It was just a way to pass the time after I happened to arrive on the island."
"Justice, truth—none of that interests me."
"Saints use them to adorn their robes, sinners use them to fuel their ambitions, but I... want nothing, and need nothing."
"Do you... understand?"
Camellya leaned in, her face now just a fist's width away from Lucian's. Her captivating eyes bore into his, carrying an indescribable emotion.
KU-Money, watching from the side, snapped, "Can you two stop flirting here? You're disrupting my work, you know?"
Lucian released Camellya's wrist and asked, puzzled, "You have work to do too? Black Shores is truly inhumane."
KU-Money was speechless. "Am I not human? Am I really not human?"
Lucian suddenly realized, "Ah, right—you're definitely not human..."
He pulled out Rover's Speaker from his pocket. "Rover's Speaker, analyze this black robot for me. What exactly is it?"
KU-Money: "???"
"What is this thing?"
It stared curiously at the robot, which looked nothing like any of the other robots in Black Shores. It had never seen this model before.
Rover's Speaker scanned KU-Money up and down before announcing, "Analysis initiated—Subject: Tethys System Terminal. Structure and performance limits unknown."
"Aside from the Tethys System administrator, it possesses direct access permissions to the Tethys System. In the daily operations of Black Shores members, it serves as an assistant and tool."
"Note—Different robots possess distinct thoughts and personalities, even developing their own cognitive psychology."
KU-Money exclaimed in surprise, "Where did you get this robot? It can analyze so much."
Lucian stared at KU-Money with a serious expression before asking, puzzled, "Different thoughts and personalities?"
"Won't that lead to a 'machine uprising'?"
Rover's Speaker replied, "The Tethys System Terminal is connected to the Tethys System."
"Black Shores' observation, warning, and resolution of The Lament all rely on the calculations of the Tethys System."
"As long as the Tethys System exists, the connection between the terminal and it will never be severed."
"As for the 'machine uprising' the master mentioned..."
Rover's Speaker paused before continuing, "...Further analysis of the Tethys System's core is required to provide an answer."
KU-Money marveled, "Kuku, impressive, truly impressive."
"I'll record you. Your name is Rover's Speaker, right?"
Rover's Speaker pondered for a moment before suddenly declaring passionately, "Since you asked with such sincerity, I shall generously enlighten you!..."
KU-Money: "?"
Lucian silently stored Rover's Speaker back into his system space before asking curiously, "Who invented the Tethys System?"
Before KU-Money could answer, Lucian heard Rover's voice behind him.
"Lucian!"
The next moment, he felt his ear being pinched by a cold, delicate hand. "I knew you'd be flirting again!"
Lucian protested, "Is talking to a robot considered flirting now?"
Rover smirked. "Then tell me, is this robot male or female?"
Lucian: "?"
KU-Money: "?"
Rover continued, "And I wasn't talking about the robot..."
She turned her gaze to Camellya, who met her eyes and smiled sweetly. "My, my, it seems Rover has some misunderstandings about me."
Rover: "What misunderstandings?"
Camellya chuckled. "This is just part of Shorekeeper's mission."
Rover frowned suspiciously. "Who's Shorekeeper?"
Camellya touched her cheek, adopting a slightly unsettling expression. "In Black Shores' history, she is the one who stands behind the leader, the guardian of Black Shores."
"Records say she only reveals her true form during Black Shores' most critical moments, assisting our leader in guiding the entire organization..."
Lucian frowned. "She only shows herself in the most critical moments, but we just saw her, didn't we?"
Camellya smiled mysteriously. "Yes, so... perhaps Black Shores is already in its most dire state."
"After all, even you two—the great heroes who saved Jinzhou—have arrived here. Maybe something really has happened, which is why you were sent..."
Rover fell into thought. "Maybe something really is wrong..."
Lucian asked, "Why do you say that? Also, where are Yangyang and Youhu? Didn't they come with you?"
Rover frowned and explained, "Yangyang took me and Youhu to the Port City of Guixu, where we met a Blake Bloom named 'Hoda'..."
"Hmm... She called me the 'Astral Modulator' and said I was once a member of Black Shores..."
"Later, we encountered some Tacet Discords, and someone with a blue-and-white headscarf saved me and brought me here... As for Yangyang and Youhu, I don't know where they went. Maybe they were teleported somewhere else?"
She recounted the events in detail.
Lucian pondered. A blue-and-white headscarf... That must be Shorekeeper. If Shorekeeper saved Rover, then Yangyang and Youhu should be fine.
As for the title "Astral Modulator," Shorekeeper had already mentioned it in his dream.
But how did that Blake Bloom named Hord know about it?
From the way she spoke, she might have been a former member of Black Shores...
Camellya chuckled softly beside him. "A Blake Bloom sacrificed herself? It seems Black Shores really is in trouble."
"That person calling herself Hoda might not have been a member at all."