"I overheard your conversation earlier. You must be Wise, right? I apologize for letting you witness such a chaotic scene. I hope it didn't make you doubt our professionalism."
After Koleda was put down, she looked up at Wise standing before her. When their eyes met by accident, her heart skipped for a brief moment.
She had always thought of herself as composed and unaffected, yet now there was a strange flutter in her chest.
It felt unfamiliar and awkward, an emotion she had never experienced before, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.
"Of course not. Belobog Heavy Industries is well-known, and I've heard plenty about the President as well," Wise praised her with a gentle smile.
"R-Really? cough... That's a bit much. It's honestly just the result of everyone working together."
Koleda felt her mood lift instantly, though she forced herself to keep a straight face.
"Alright, let's get down to business. When Anton mentioned earlier that a renowned Proxy like you was willing to take on our commission, everyone breathed a sigh of relief," she said, assuming a more professional tone.
"Anton may have already mentioned it. We secured the metro project, but things haven't gone well. Enemies keep interfering…"
"Uh, President, isn't it a little rude to call them 'enemies' so directly in front of Mr. Wise? Hearing Koleda's blunt words, Ben, standing beside her, spoke up to remind her.
Anton, however, didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it.
Wise quickly understood that the 'enemies' Koleda referred to were most likely Belobog Industries business rivals.
He soon learned that, in their attempt to snatch the metro renovation project, these rivals had resorted to every possible method to cause trouble, much like Vision Corporation had done before.
They interfered with bank loans, sent troublemakers to the construction site, and delayed permits whenever they could.
None of that was the real issue, though. The true problem was a recent accident.
"Last week, three of our children were lost inside the Hollow."
"Cough, Grace, wait a moment. Saying it like that might make Mr. Wise misunderstand," Ben calmly explained the real situation. "Mr. Wise, you must have heard about our company's independently developed Intelligent Engineering Machinery, also known as the Smart Machines, right? They're similar to the one you just helped us control."
"Oh, I think I understand now. Then the three lost children Ms. Grace mentioned earlier must actually be three intelligent engineering machines," Wise said, putting a hand to his chin.
"Exactly, Mr. Wise. You truly live up to your reputation. Someone who can so easily subdue my dear child would naturally grasp my meaning right away."
At that moment, Grace puffed out her large chest and began her introduction, looking visibly proud.
"The true strength of Belobog Industries lies in these intelligent machines, which can operate safely inside the Hollow for long periods. They are also my precious children!"
-Grace[1] -
After saying that, she continued without pausing.
"They can not only effectively resist Ether erosion but also possess a high level of intelligence, allowing them to operate autonomously based on the conditions inside the Hollow. They're also equipped with special voice modules, making communication effortless. Oh, speaking of which…"
Grace suddenly seemed to remember something. She leaned in toward Wise without a second thought, her excitement obvious as she continued.
"Wise, how did you make that child obey you just now? The intelligent program clearly didn't recognize you, yet she followed your commands so obediently. Did you use some kind of special method? Or is it…"
"Alright, Grace, you're making things difficult for our guest."
Seeing Grace nearly leaning onto Wise, Ben, who stood nearby, quickly spoke up to stop her.
Only then did Grace react. Realizing how close she was, with her chest almost brushing against him, she quickly stepped back, a rare hint of girlish shyness appearing on her face.
"I apologize. A few days ago, after I updated the logic core for those three missing children, they began ignoring commands while working in the Hollow and went deeper into it on their own. And just now, Wise, you were able to command that child without any command authority, which is why I…" Grace spoke while trying to explain herself, her tone clearly troubled.
"Hmph. If you hadn't insisted on putting that guy's code into the core, I really don't think we'd be dealing with this mess now," Koleda said with obvious displeasure, sharply retorting to Grace, who immediately argued back.
"Hold on, sweet pea. It's not even certain this is a chip issue yet, is it? Besides, beautiful and powerful machinery naturally needs a matching soul."
As she spoke, Grace clasped her hands by her cheek, her face full of admiration.
"So, as the President of an intelligent development company, don't you think so?"
"Hmph. Souls or whatever don't matter. Since I'm the President, it makes more sense to treat those machines as assets. And if this isn't a chip problem, then how did Wise manage to command that machine just now?" Koleda said bluntly.
"That… I didn't install any code into that child, so this situation should be considered an anomaly."
Grace was clearly puzzled as well. Almost immediately, everyone's eyes shifted toward Wise, leaving him with no choice but to speak up.
"Hmm, let's just say this is something unique to me. You can think of it as my own special hacking trick."
Wise didn't want to explain it, so he casually made something up.
"I see. Just what I'd expect from Phaethon. If there's ever a chance, I'd like to learn a thing or two from you."
With his status as a Legendary Proxy, even such a flimsy explanation sounded convincing enough. For now, everyone seemed satisfied.
"Alright, Grace, whatever that is, it's clearly something Wise can't share, so don't push it."
Koleda then shifted the focus back to business.
"Getting back to the point. Leaving our enemies aside, intelligent machines are extremely expensive to produce, and we can't keep losing assets like this."
She looked straight at Wise, her voice carrying a rare seriousness.
"Wise, the commission is for you to take us deep into the Hollow and retrieve the three lost machines. We already have the rough locations of two of them. If there's anything else you want to ask, you can talk to Grace and Anton later."
As soon as she finished, Wise felt his arm being pulled. He turned and saw Grace staring at him with clear anticipation.
"Uh, Ms. Grace, is there something you need?"
"You can just call me Grace. I'm really curious about that hacking technique you mentioned. I'm not asking you to explain it, I just want to see you command that child again," she said eagerly.
"Alright, Grace, but let's talk about that after the commission is finished. For now, the priority is finding your… hmm, those three children first."
[1] IMAGE