"What are you doing?! I'm warning you, I sell my skills, not my body!"
"What are you thinking? You need to turn back into an Ethereal before stripping, of course. I just want to study your special constitution."
The two of them had previously studied the fact that Geno, despite being an Ethereal, was different from other Ethereals. Now that they had the conditions for experimentation—albeit limited ones—they might be able to discover even more.
"Lucia, help me attach this to him."
As she spoke, Twiggy handed two objects resembling electrical wires to Lucia.
"Is this... really going to be okay?"
Although she had wandered the edges of the city with her tribe since childhood, she wasn't so ignorant that she didn't recognize electrical wires. Would connecting this thing to Geno really not cook him alive?
"Trust him. He's more thick-skinned than you think."
"Alright, then."
Lucia quickly attached the 'wires' to Geno, but then she suddenly realized something.
'Eh? Shouldn't Twiggy have said to trust her?'
Bzzzt!
"Wuwuwulululu XnX"
Electric sparks flashed, and Geno's body immediately began to convulse, scaring Lucia into instantly letting go of the wires in her hands.
About two seconds later, Geno lay stiff on the ground. Twiggy, standing to the side, didn't even spare him a glance, her eyes fixed intently on the data displayed on the cracked screen.
Gulp~
Lucia subconsciously swallowed, silently swearing in her heart that she would absolutely never provoke Twiggy.
The friendship between the three was forged in that moment, and what followed were trivial matters not worth discussing in detail.
All in all, despite the hard work of Twiggy and Geno, their progress didn't advance much. The reason was simple: with the equipment they had, and without sufficient funding, any kind of research was difficult to sustain.
Consequently, Geno and Lucia took up the business of being Hollow Raiders, while Twiggy sold off some of the useless scrap from the Silver Base.
During this same period, the other members of the Silver Squad who had been in comas woke up one by one. However, they had all lost their memories. According to Twiggy, this was a normal phenomenon. Due to defects in their design as artificial humans, their brains would enter a protective mode after suffering severe trauma, resulting in partial memory loss.
But that didn't matter. They would recover with a little time.
However, losing their memories didn't mean they didn't need to work.
"He who does not work, neither shall he eat! Since you're awake, you must work!" — By Slave Driver Twiggy.
Very quickly, the members of the Silver Squad began to shine in the construction of the Silver Base. They were divided into groups according to their specialties:
Numbers 8, 9, and 10, who excelled in martial force (but had bad brains), were responsible for following Geno to explore Hollows and collect supplies.
Numbers 5, 6, and 7 (Twiggy), who excelled in technical work (but were weak in combat), were responsible for researching technology and constantly repairing the equipment in the Silver Base.
The remaining Numbers 1, 2, and 3 (who were relatively reliable) were responsible for managing the logistics of the entire base.
There was also a Number 4, who was entrusted with a mysterious mission by Twiggy and was generally not at the base.
As for Lucia...
Aside from occasionally following Geno and the others to explore Hollows, she just honestly stayed put and acted as a mascot for the rest of the time.
There was no helping it; Twiggy had really tried. She had attempted to teach Lucia about machinery and Ether technology. But Lucia, who had never had the chance to touch electronic devices since childhood, expressed that it was simply impossible for her!
The only thing she could currently use proficiently was the smartphone Geno had bought her with their first bucket of gold. And the most complex operation she performed was surfing the internet and browsing forums.
Of course, that was done outside the Hollow.
Fortunately, she wasn't completely useless. Since she was the only one in this small team who could freely enter and exit the Hollow, Lucia was responsible for the base's procurement and the resale of supplies.
Because of this, the entire Night Watcher tribe became the chief agents for the Silver Base. Incidentally, they could use this income to improve the lives of their tribe, making it a win-win situation.
Time flew by. Days of repetitive labor passed like a white colt crossing a crevice, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.
The Silver Base of today was no longer the dilapidated ruin of the past.
Over the past year, thanks to Geno's career as a Hollow Raider and the novel gadgets derived from Twiggy's technical skills receiving great acclaim on the black market, they had acquired quite a bit of operating capital.
Subsequently, Twiggy decisively invested most of the funds into this base that the military had abandoned. At the very least, they finally didn't have to live in drafty dormitories and roofless laboratories anymore.
"Number 5, help me adjust the voltage up one level."
"Number 6, accelerate the release of Ether matter by double."
Inside the laboratory, three exquisite girls who looked exactly alike were busy beyond belief. In the center of the test bench, a black, ring-shaped object was undergoing the dual ordeal of electric current and Ether.
In a movie, this would be the scene where an accident happens, no matter when it occurred. But soon, this little thing proved it wasn't just for show.
"Twiggy, the experimental data is out. It works normally in extreme environments. High pressure, extreme cold, high heat, electric shock, and high Ether environments have all been tested. No problems at all."
A small version of Twiggy with a smile on her face and a lively, cheerful personality ran happily to Twiggy's side and hugged her without any sense of boundaries.
"Number 6, don't celebrate too early. The most critical practicality test hasn't been done yet."
In complete contrast to the lively Number 6 was Number 5, who always maintained her calm. Although they looked exactly the same and their genes came from the same individual, their personalities were vastly different.
Just as there are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, products coming from the same process can have different variances. The same applied to Twiggy and the others; aside from their identical appearance, they were all living, breathing people.
"Alright, generally speaking, it's still worth celebrating. Notify Lucia and Number 3's group. We can have a good celebration tonight."
"Yay! We can eat a big meal again!"
"As long as it's not spicy."
The three sisters left their seats together, talking and laughing as they walked out of the laboratory.
If it were a year ago, Twiggy would definitely have thought she was dreaming. But now, looking at the sisters standing with her and the happy smiles they had never shown before, Twiggy knew this was real. This was not a dream.
Sometimes she thought, maybe she should just let things continue like this.
But every time she saw that nameless stone tablet on the earthen mound outside the base, she felt that she must do something. And there was one other reason that kept her moving forward.
"Yo~ Off work so early today? Is the experiment over?"
Geno. The culprit who broke into her life a year ago and changed her destiny.
Over this year, the relationship between the two hadn't changed much, yet it seemed like something had shifted. It was just that the two of them didn't know it themselves.
"Mmn, the testing is mostly done. The only thing left is the field test."
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