As the starry night began to clear, Zhon and Roan continued analyzing Irene's cranial system. Zhon suddenly rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

  "Wait, I just thought of something. Our OS chip—it contains our memories and is the sole thing powering our bodies."

  Roan looked at him as if to say, Continue.

  "What if Mother Phoenix was temporarily able to take hold of that chip and make us do what she wants? Because if what you said about Ravine feeling trapped in her own body is true, could it be that she can control our bodies at will, just like she did with our memories before we arrived on Earth?"

  "I mean, it's possible, but even if that's the case, how do we even stop that?"

  Silence fell between them. Zhon frowned. "It's not like we can just pull out her OS chip to analyze it. She'll die."

  Roan tapped his shoulder and pointed to Aria's chip. "What about this one then?"

  Zhon flipped the damaged OS chip in his hand. "I don't know. It would be different if it was still intact, but... let's give it a try."

  "I'm gonna let you do your thing, man. In the meantime, I'll think of a plan for when we get to Tokyo." He scoffed. "Ravine has no intention of waiting for us to get there."

  Zhon lifted his head. "Can you blame her, though? She got her body hijacked and was forced to do horrible things." His eyes narrowed. "I would feel the same, too."

  Ravine frowned as she surged through the tube at superhigh speed, dodging crates that had broken loose. Outside the tube, the ocean held a spectacular display—dolphins swam alongside her, their calls echoing through the water, while schools of fish darted around the tube in silvery clouds.

  Ravine stayed focused. Mother Phoenix said she would be at the Miyumi Tanaka Research Center.

  She opened her data menu while sliding on the water with her spear. "According to the data, Mrs. Tanaka was her creator. She also perished during Mother Phoenix's attack."

  The tube made a sharp turn, forcing her into a loop. She checked the ETA. "Ten minutes."

  "Assistant, can you give me a layout of the building I'm headed into?"

  The assistant crackled to life. "Hello, Ravine. Long time no talk. Of course, let me show you a detailed layout."

  After a few seconds, a holographic map appeared, showing layers of a building.

  "The weapons depot, as you can see, is underground. This is where you'll arrive." The assistant highlighted a layer above. "To reach the upper layer, you'll have to find an elevator. The current power is too weak for transport, so you'll have to climb using the cables until you reach sublevel one."

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  "Continue," Ravine said, sliding aside to dodge a lost crate.

  "Then you'll need to enter the vents of the assembly department to reach the main floor. From there, you can proceed however you wish. To reach the Tanaka Research Center, I suggest using the rooftops."

  "Why so?"

  "For one, you'll have faster mobility. And apparently, there are other androids roaming the streets."

  Ravine's eyes widened. "Other androids? That's great! That means they can help us go against Mother Phoenix."

  "Ehhhh, I'm unable to identify whether they would be of any use. After all, they could be under Mother Phoenix's control."

  Ravine nodded slowly. "Then I'll do this on my own."

  After a few minutes, the tube angled upward. Within seconds, Ravine burst out into a storage room filled with weapon crates, blinding lights on the ceiling illuminating the black walls.

  "Will that be all?" the assistant asked.

  "Yeah, thank you for the help."

  The assistant turned off. Ravine scanned the room, located the elevator, and approached. She used her Razor Arms to cut through the locked elevator doors. Once inside, she grabbed onto the roof, swung up, and kicked through the small maintenance door.

  Now, to get to the first sublevel.

  She grabbed the cables and began climbing, the cables screeching with each movement. She started jumping to go faster, making the elevator car below shake. After several minutes, she reached the first sublevel.

  As she stepped out, she found herself in a corridor lined with tables covered in blueprints—orbital laser designs alongside other weaponry schematics.

  These lasers—they were trying to replicate the formula on smaller scales. She shook her head. No time for this. I have to go now.

  She located a vent on the wall and entered, each movement creating echoes around her. As she crawled upward through the ventilation system, she began hearing what sounded like public announcements from the main level, though the voices were impossible to make out.

  As she got closer, the voices became clearer. With one firm kick, she burst out of the vent into an enormous main hall with a woman on screen speaking in Japanese. Ravine activated her instant translation function.

  "Here at Ryuki Enterprise, our citizens' safety is our priority. In these times when war is looming, we've made sure to adopt the finest technology to ensure your security!" The woman smiled. "Our future is assured!"

  Ravine shook her head and continued through the empty building. She saw a large fountain in the center surrounded by vegetation, then looked at her hands. Well, looks like this ability will be useful again.

  She examined the ceiling made of windows, transformed her arms into vines, and attached them to the upper levels before catapulting herself upward. She broke through the glass ceiling and front-flipped into a perfect landing on the roof.

  She looked at her arms as rain began to fall, closing her eyes to enjoy the sensation. When she opened them again, she saw the cityscape—countless neon screens and lights reflecting off the wet surfaces in the nighttime.

  "So this is Tokyo, huh?"

  From above, she noticed movement in the streets. The assistant said to try not to get their attention. I'll have to be stealthy until I'm close enough to the building.

  She used her magnifiers to identify the Tanaka building. "One-point-five kilometers. Let's get to it."

  She leaped to the next building and began a parkour run across the rooftops, maintaining momentum. A loud voice suddenly filled her head.

  You finally made it. Congratulations, Ravine. I see you're still alone, though. Please note that I still require your data. I hope you manage to reach me before they do. They don't like the idea of you coming after me. Good luck.

  Ravine looked back and saw a swarm of androids emerging from the roads, converging on her position.

  "You bastard! They won't stop me from getting to you—just watch!"

  She accelerated, utilizing her enhanced speed and power to leap far ahead to the roof of another building.