Delta: I have a 1-Haf Coin instant kill system!

The noise in the cafeteria gradually faded away.

Zhang Zhao leaned back in his chair; the bowl of mutton soup in front of him had gone cold.

He held a broken piece of naan bread in his hand, idly putting it into his mouth as he thought about the various details of Operation AZ3.

He only snapped out of his daze when he felt two pairs of eyes on him.

He turned his head to the side; to his left was a terrifying claw, and to his right, a butterfly.

Hawthorn was unconsciously twirling one finger around the game console's lanyard, but his eyes weren't on the screen; instead, they were fixed on him without blinking.

When she saw him looking over, she didn't flinch, but simply put the game console on the table.

*Smack!*

A soft sound,

"What are you thinking about? Your soul has wandered off."

Zhang Zhao rubbed his fingers together, brushed away the crumbs of naan bread, and tried to keep his tone as relaxed as possible.

"Thinking about tomorrow's route..."

"Are you thinking about a route, or how to avoid us?"

The butterfly's voice drifted over from the right, as if it could see through everything.

She rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at him, and smiled.

Zhang Zhao choked for a moment, then tactically took a sip of soup.

Hareclaw gave a soft "humph" from the side.

She reached out and took away the bowl of cold soup in front of Zhang Zhao, replacing it with a cup of steaming tea.

"Don't drink it if it's cold. We're leaving tomorrow, don't upset your stomach."

Zhang Zhao held the cup of tea, feeling the warmth on his fingertips.

He paused for a moment, then looked down at the tea in his cup.

He could sense that something was off about the atmosphere.

There was a silence between the three of them for about two seconds.

Butterfly broke the silence first.

"Zhang Zhao, I have a question for you, so don't try to brush me off."

Zhang Zhao raised his head. "You speak."

"What do you think of the two of us...?"

This question is too direct.

Zhang Zhao looked to the left, then to the right.

Two pairs of eyes were looking at him, one with burning gaze, the other with hopeful eyes.

He did not answer immediately.

It's not that he hadn't thought about it, but that he really was thinking about it.

From our first meeting at the training base, to several battles fought side by side, and then to that inexplicable incident last night.

The monstrous claw is calm and sharp; the butterfly is gentle and resilient.

Their feelings for him seemed to go beyond those of ordinary teammates.

Zhang Zhao was silent for a moment, then said, "You are all very good..."

Hazha's eyebrows twitched slightly, and Die's lips curved into a smile, but the smile didn't fully unfold.

They were all waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"But I can't give you a definite answer right now."

Zhang Zhao met their gazes.

"The situation with AZ3 is still unclear. Whether tomorrow's trip will be auspicious or inauspicious is anyone's guess. I..."

"Are you saying you don't want to go on a mission with unresolved issues?"

The Claw spoke the second half of the sentence for him.

She picked up the game console from the table, put it in her pocket, then stood up and tilted her head slightly towards him.

"Then we'll talk about it when you get back. Anyway, you can't run away."

Die also stood up and gently pushed the chair back under the table.

She walked to Zhang Zhao's side and paused for a moment.

"It's a deal then. When you come back, the three of us will go on a trip."

"I won't go to any dangerous places, I'll just find a small town with mountains and water, play for a few days, and not think about anything."

She paused, then added,

"So you'd better come back safely, or this agreement will be null and void."

Zhang Zhao looked up and saw the two of them standing side by side.

The sunlight cast long shadows behind them, which met and then separated on the cafeteria floor.

He suddenly felt something gently bump against his heart.

"Okay, I'll go when I get back."

Butterfly smiled, her eyes crinkling, and turned to walk towards the door.

Hawthorn followed behind her, and when they reached the door, he turned his head and his gaze lingered on Zhang Zhao's face for a moment.

The door closed behind her, and the footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.

Zhang Zhao was the only one left in the cafeteria.

After a moment, he let out a soft breath and muttered something to himself.

"Why does it sound like a life-or-death separation..."

He shook his head, finished the cup of tea in one gulp, then stood up, stacked the bowls and plates, and walked towards the door.

Back in the dormitory, Zhang Zhao stood in the center of the room.

The next second, black mist silently rose from beneath their feet.

The moment the dark hood fell down, the Shadow Suit was completely covered.

He moved his wrists, and moments later his consciousness traveled hundreds of kilometers.

......

The top of the Tower of Babel

Guy was slumped in a chair.

He listlessly tossed a rusty bolt around, his eyes vacant.

Rometheus was standing in front of a giant holographic projection.

He was a far cry from his disheveled appearance of the previous two days; his brand-new white lab coat was spotless, and data flowed across his gold-rimmed glasses.

The holographic model in front of him was a structural diagram of a preserved egg.

At this moment, he is trying to decipher it.

"Eighth attempt...failure!"

Rometheus adjusted his glasses and began typing rapidly on the virtual keyboard.

"The load is too high! This little thing actually has such powerful energy inside it!"

"Without any energy conversion, replication is simply impossible..."

Before he finished speaking, the laboratory door slid open silently.

Gai Ke paused in his action of throwing the bolts, turned his head, and saw a figure walking in unhurriedly.

The person who arrived was none other than Zhang Zhao!

"Have you figured it out yet?"

Zhang Zhao stretched his neck.

Rometheus paused, his gaze falling on Zhang Zhao.

"...NB-002."

Zhang Zhao was not wearing the Shadow special equipment set at this moment.

Therefore, Rometheus recognized the other party at a glance.

Gekko tilted his head, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhang Zhao and Rometheus, without interrupting the standoff.

Zhang Zhao did not deny it, but simply nodded slightly.

"It's me!"

Rometheus took off his glasses, pressed his thumb firmly against his brow, and then put them back on.

He looked at Zhang Zhao again, his eyes filled with shock.

"When I implanted the Relink brain-computer interface, I read all your physiological data."

"100% synchronization rate, perfect fit, the highest ever."

"I thought that was the pinnacle of brain-computer interface technology." He paused.

Zhang Zhao did not respond.

Rometheus took two steps forward and walked around the holographic projection platform.

His gaze shifted from Zhang Zhao's face to his left arm—the armband engraved with the silhouette of a shadowy figure.

"You are a full-fledged operator of GTI, codename Shadow."

"......Yes."

Rometheus was silent for a moment.

"The Relink brain-computer interface perfect fitter, the Hafk undercover agent who infiltrated GTI, the actual controller of the R organization... are these all the same person?"

"What about my research?"

"My life's work, Relink brain-computer interface, what does it mean to you?"

Zhang Zhao met his gaze. "A tool."

Rometheus's smile froze for a moment. "Tools?"

"You treat it as the ultimate answer," Zhang Zhao said.

"But for me, it's just a stepping stone."

"Without it, I wouldn't have survived the operating table at the Tower of Babel, nor would I have had the opportunity to get to where I am today."