The next day, Sunday morning.
For once, Vill-V, who had stayed up for half the night, actually woke up on time. Early in the morning, she waited expectantly for the paperboy to arrive.
Evidently, even with all her confidence, she still needed to keep track of her enemy's movements.
However, aside from a follow-up report on the 'bloody-word murder case' on the second page, the newspaper revealed no other meaningful information.
Even without imitating Charlotte's way of thinking, she knew that this fluff piece would be of no value to her rival's investigation.
Thus, her gaze slowly drifted downwards, landing on the 'Lost and Found' section.
"A ring was found on Brixton Road, between the White Hart Tavern and Holland Grove. The owner is requested to claim it from Miss Watson at 221B Baker Street."
Vill-V raised an eyebrow. After a moment of thought, she unhesitatingly ran to the workshop Fu Li had prepared for her. From it, she retrieved something that looked like a game console and a small, square box.
The box had a very quaint appearance, with several tiny gears exposed on its surface. On its left side was a device that resembled a camera lens.
After Vill-V placed the small box on the floor, accompanied by the clacking of gears, four slender legs extended out. They wobbled as they supported the box, slowly standing up as if from a bad connection, before finally becoming stable.
Then, the sound of gears continued.
Vill-V held a modified game controller. Above the controller, an LCD screen slowly lit up, displaying an image of their apartment door—the field of vision of the 'little box'.
"Hmph, hmph. Li, what do you think of my invention!"
Vill-V said, looking up. Her fingers flew across the controller, and the 'little box' moved with her commands, swiveling with the agility of a real dog.
Using only her knowledge from middle and high school physics, along with some mechanics, Vill-V had created such an exquisite little robot.
"So, is this a 'mechanical dog'? It's amazing. You deserve praise."
Looking at the lively little thing hopping around, Fu Li smiled and reached out to rub Vill-V's head.
Although the things Vill-V was making now were still a bit rudimentary, he believed that with her talent, she would soon become the great inventor of the future.
Feeling the large hand messing with her hair, Vill-V's face flushed red. She then spoke with a deliberate touch of pride.
"You're wrong, Li. It doesn't have a lame name like 'mechanical dog'. Its name is [Anti-Li Armament 002]. What do you think? Isn't it great?"
"Yes, yes, it's certainly great." Fu Li nodded with an amused smile, then asked, "By the way, Vill-V, what are you planning to do with it?"
"All warfare is based on deception."
Vill-V held up a single finger, putting on a mature air. "I'm going to use it to find the murderer first."
"So, you're planning to steal the fruits of someone else's victory, is that it?" Fu Li mercilessly exposed her plan, causing Vill-V to cough in embarrassment before retorting:
"What are you talking about? Being able to build this is a skill of mine. When an inventor does it, how can you call it stealing the fruits of victory? This is called reasonable competition. Besides, Charlotte won't mind."
At this point, Vill-V spoke with confidence. "I'm willing to bet that Charlotte is more interested in me right now than she is in the case. She's probably dying to see my other abilities."
"It's just a shame that I'll only be showing her a small part of them."
Seeing Vill-V's confident look, Fu Li could only nod in agreement, wearing an expression that said, 'You're right about everything'.
Sigh. As expected, compared to the neutral-good Charlotte, the current Vill-V is completely chaotic-good. But that's fine, this is who she is, after all.
Fu Li shrugged and asked, "Alright, then what do you want to eat for lunch?"
"Mmm, I want the little cupcakes from last time, and also sausages and milk. Some fish would be great, too," Vill-V answered without hesitation.
"No, those cupcakes are too sweet. It's not good for your development," Fu Li refused.
Vill-V's lower lip jutted out. She didn't speak, just expertly turned her pitiful gaze on Fu Li.
Faced with such a pleading look, Fu Li fell silent, then shook his head helplessly.
"Alright, fine. I can't say no to you. I'll go out and buy the groceries. But let me be clear, I'm not putting too much sugar in them this time."
"Hee hee, that's okay. I mainly like the texture anyway."
With that, Vill-V added offhandedly, "Oh, right. Could you please take this mechanical dog... wait, no, the Anti-Li Armament Model 002, outside with you?"
"Sure, no problem."
Seeing Fu Li's somewhat perfunctory agreement, Vill-V snorted inwardly.
Just you wait. When I build an Anti-Li Armament with restraining and binding functions, I'll definitely use it on you for looking down on my current inventions.
But the question is, building a chair that can restrain a normal person isn't hard. The hard part is figuring out how to tie up Fu Li. What a headache.
As her thoughts wandered, Vill-V saw her own hands and quickly pulled them back.
Biting her nails was a bad habit. Li had told her off for it many times, so she had to correct it.
With that thought, Vill-V watched as the shaky image on the game console stabilized. The camera was now pointed directly at Charlotte's front door.
Vill-V took a banana that Fu Li had bought from the fruit basket in front of her and began to eat. She peeled it and then slowly brought it to her small mouth.
Now, all she had to do was wait patiently, like a snake, for the prey to walk into the trap.
An hour later, Watson came out to throw away some empty bottles and trash, greeting Fu Li, who was returning with groceries.
Two hours later, neither Watson nor Charlotte had come out. It seemed they were also lying in wait.
Three hours later, still no one. But Fu Li had finished making lunch.
"Alright, Vill-V, time to eat. You can watch later."
Fu Li walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food. Seeing Vill-V reading a book while simultaneously watching the game console screen, he spoke with a helpless tone.
"Mmm, no," Vill-V refused flatly. "I have to win this competition. Don't interfere, stupid Li!"
"Ah, this..." Fu Li was at a loss. "Then what if it gets cold?"
Hearing this, Vill-V fell into deep thought, before finally just opening her mouth. "Feed me!"
"...Sigh. Alright, just this once. You can't be so willful in the future."
Resigned, Fu Li put down his own plate, speared a piece of pastry with a fork, and brought it to Vill-V's mouth.
Fortunately, Vill-V's tongue was very nimble, so even though she was distracted, she didn't bite it.
The happy feeding time continued. Just as Fu Li brought the last small sausage to Vill-V's lips, she suddenly swallowed it in one gulp and sat up straight.
"Li, Li! The target has appeared!"
Author's PS:
, so tired.