Why is his holy light red?

"We should launch a strong attack! There are only three of them. If we are fast enough, we can take them out quickly and minimize casualties."

"But we have no line of sight right now, and we have no idea where they are in the supermarket. If we can't see them clearly, we can't launch a surprise attack. If we make too much noise, the hostages will be injured or killed."

"We only have five minutes before they start executing the hostages. There's no time for thorough reconnaissance. Since there will be casualties anyway, we might as well finish this quickly."

……

A heated discussion is taking place on the training field.

Vincent and Rex did most of the talking, while Nora and Mercury remained somewhat silent.

Nora knew her soap bubble ability was useless, so she had no right to speak. Mercury, on the other hand, was unfamiliar with the abilities of the two and decided to observe them first.

More importantly, he wasn't as eager to prove anything as the other two.

For him, this was just a training exercise. Winning or losing didn't matter; what really mattered was how much he could improve through this simulation.

Vincent and Rex's attitude of "I must perform well and impress that old cowboy" made them seem overly eager for quick success. On the surface, they were discussing strategies, but in reality, they were vying for credit and the right to speak.

Such a cooperative attitude is often the beginning of failure.

The two argued for a few more minutes, neither able to convince the other.

Seeing that time was running out, Mercury suggested, "Why don't we listen to their demands first? Since they've taken hostages, they must want to negotiate; otherwise, they would have already killed them."

Vincent frowned. "Those are robots. You're going to negotiate with them?"

Rex added insult to injury, his tone clearly sarcastic: "This is training, you think it's real life? What kind of demands can robots make—do you expect them to provide free batteries?"

Mercury did not respond.

He turned around abruptly, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted loudly towards the supermarket, "Listen up, people inside! Don't be impulsive! Don't hurt the hostages! Tell me your demands!"

Vincent and Rex glared at him simultaneously—their eyes seemed to say: Are you fucking kidding me?

However, the next second, a clear synthesized electronic voice came from deep within the supermarket:

"Give us a car! Now! Or we'll start killing the hostages!"

The air was silent for about two seconds.

Mercury shrugged and said nothing.

Nora asked in surprise, "How did you know robots could negotiate?"

Mercury said, "I don't know, but there's no harm in trying, is there? Besides, we can't underestimate the products of the Iron Titans; maybe those robots are smarter than us."

"So where are we going to get a car now, genius?" Vincent's voice was tinged with resentment.

Mercury didn't answer directly, but turned to look at the Magic Eye Man who had been standing and observing from the side: "If this is a supermarket scene simulation, there should be cars on the street, right?"

Magic Eye Man nodded and continued operating the tablet. Soon, gray pillars rose up and formed a car model outside the supermarket.

At this point, Vincent was speechless. He felt that the Magic Eye was deliberately targeting him. Otherwise, why didn't he just create a car at the door from the beginning? Then anyone would know that the thugs inside could negotiate.

Could it be that they leaked the questions to this kid beforehand?

No matter how unhappy I am, I have no choice but to cooperate and complete the training.

The vehicle was ready, and Vincent said, "So what do we do now? Lure them out?"

Mercury quickly surveyed the surrounding structure, then turned to the others and said, "You two, lie in ambush on either side of the entrance. I'll find a spot on the side of the car." He pointed to the supermarket entrance. "When they come out, three thugs, one for each of us. Nora—"

He looked at the quiet girl: "Stand a little further back, but make sure they can see you as soon as they come out. Your job is to attract their attention."

To be honest, Mercury didn't have much experience; this whole setup was done by gut feeling.

Fortunately, Vincent and Rex did not contradict him at this crucial moment. They both nodded, crouched down, and hid in the blind spots on either side of the supermarket entrance.

Nora also stopped after retreating about ten meters, took a breath, and spread her hands out, releasing countless colorful soap bubbles.

This design is indeed very eye-catching.

Mercury crouched beside the gray toy car and shouted loudly into the supermarket, "The car is ready! Release the hostages, and I guarantee you'll leave safely!"

Everything is ready; now all that's left is to wait for those "bandits" to come out.

Mercury now only hopes that the AI ​​of the Iron Titans isn't too smart and that they'll just let them take it down.

Magic Eye Man didn't seem to intend to make things too difficult for them.

The sounds of machinery operating inside the supermarket gradually became clearer, and the robots began to move towards the entrance, as the supermarket's sliding doors slowly slid open to the sides.

Two robots rushed out.

Their bodies glowed red, and their rapid, deliberately panicked movements resembled the reaction of a real robber upon hearing "the car is ready." They rushed out the door and immediately looked around, scanning their surroundings.

Mercury crouched beside the car, his pupils slightly contracted.

Why are there only two?

He immediately realized something was wrong. There were three robots that were initially glowing red, which meant that there was still one robber inside the supermarket, either guarding the hostages or coming out after checking the situation outside.

Vincent and Rex were clearly aware of this problem as well.

The two crouched behind the walls on either side of the door, no more than three or four meters away from the two red robots. In this open area at the supermarket entrance, with no obstructions, any robot could easily spot them with a slight shift in its gaze.

But if they act now, the communication signals between the two fallen robots at the door will be cut off, and the thug left inside will immediately know that something has happened outside.

Mercury opened his mouth, wanting to shout "Wait a minute," because he felt there was still a chance.

Nora was still standing in the distance, waving and shouting "Over here, over here" to the two robots. Her energetic appearance might actually lure out the last one inside.

Just a few more seconds... but Vincent couldn't wait.

He saw one of the robots' heads slowly turning toward where he was crouching, and he felt he was about to be discovered. In half a second, he made his choice, leaping out from behind the wall and lunging at the nearest robot.

Rex didn't even have time to curse. He glanced at the direction Vincent had lunged in, then at another robot that was about to turn back, gritted his teeth, and also rushed out from behind the wall.

Vincent slammed the robot to the ground, its heavy metal body hitting the floor with a dull thud. Rex's movements were even more swift—he reached out and pressed his hand against the robot's chest as it raised its arm to block; a flash of electricity crackled in his palm, and the robot immediately emitted a wisp of smoke before collapsing straight to the ground.

The two villainous robots were controlled within two seconds.

Almost simultaneously, a muffled gunshot rang out from inside the supermarket.

The sound echoed through the empty training ground, clear and jarring.

The voice of the Eye of the Demon followed, laced with sarcasm: "Very well. You've killed a hostage."

Vincent and Rex both paled, with Vincent even cursing viciously, "Damn it!"

But just as the two were feeling discouraged, a red figure rushed into the supermarket.

Immediately afterward, a burst of gunfire rang out, and the supermarket fell silent again. A moment later, Mercury dragged the last red robot out the door.

The supermarket model quickly sank, and the training ground turned into an empty hall.

Magic Eye once again announced: "In this crisis, two hostages died, resulting in an overall evaluation of unqualified. Third time's the charm. Anyone who accumulates three unqualified results during this week's training will have to go back and retake their internship qualification exam."