Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

“Higa has been testing this recently. After all, developing artificial intelligence is only part of the work. I also want them to be able to move around outside properly like you.” Tetsuhiro Shigemura nodded and then pointed to the strange robot. “So far, the progress is good. At least it can climb stairs now, which is a big improvement.”

"However, if I could, I would absolutely not want to admit that this is my kind, Professor Shigemura."

Vector pointed expressionlessly at the comical object, watching it sway with devilish steps, each step like claws rubbing against each other, and suddenly felt a sense of existential doubt.

"You've created a fully-fledged AI, and now you're planning to put it on this kind of ridiculous thing? Now I understand how RO felt when her mind cloud was put on the soldier ants. No wonder she said she wanted to commit suicide. If I were hanging on this thing, I would want to commit suicide too."

Vector mercilessly mocked her kind, then looked at the guy standing opposite her, dressed in a short-sleeved T-shirt and floral shorts, who looked more like a beach tourist than a scientist. He was holding a laptop in his right hand, and his expression towards Vector was quite helpless.

“Sometimes you shouldn’t be so picky… Mr. Ichiemon has already tried his best.” Higa Ken’s tone was somewhat frustrated. He had originally brought out this prototype machine number one, which was Ichiemon, to show off, but he didn’t expect Vector to criticize it so mercilessly and sharply. “After all, we’re not professionals in making this kind of hardware. It’s already quite good that we were able to develop artificial intelligence… Besides, there are very few people in the world who can create bodies like yours and Ms. Ivy’s right now.”

“Pretty much. At least the technology related to my and Ivy's bodies is quite advanced… So let’s end this small talk. My purpose in coming here isn’t to assist you in developing this thing.” Vector interrupted Higa Ken’s explanation, then looked at Shigemura Tetsuhiro and Kamishiro Rinko standing behind him, and suddenly asked, “Where is my client? Is he here?”

"I'm here, I'm here." Kikuoka waved as soon as he entered the door and saw Vector and Ivy Xin fully armed. "You must be employees of 'Azure Eyes'... Thank goodness, my connections are still too weak. I wouldn't have been able to contact you if it weren't for Enatsu-san..."

“Wait a minute, friend… Actually, there’s something I’m curious about. Such a large project should be led by your country, but if that’s the case, you could just send Self-Defense Force personnel to handle the security work. Why did you come to us?”

Vector interrupted Kikuoka's subsequent string of polite words and then raised his own question. Kikuoka, after hearing Vector's words, simply shook his head with a wry smile.

"Please allow me to keep the details confidential for now... Well, actually it's to save on the budget, because there's currently a rehabilitation project for Mr. Mo Yulan here, so Miss Aiweixin will definitely ensure the safety of this place. And if she's here, then you'll come along too, even if there's no mission."

His expression was perfectly natural, revealing nothing about him, as if this was the real reason he had sought out the "Azure Eyes" team for security work. Vector, thinking he probably wouldn't get anything out of them here, simply rubbed his fingers together with his right hand, his expression as indifferent as ever.

"Alright then, transfer the $500,000 deposit first. If I don't see the money in the account within an hour, I'll leave now."

“Vivi…”

"Ivy said weakly behind Vector, and when Vector saw Ivy like this, he suddenly smiled, which was rare for him, and then ruffled Ivy's hair vigorously.

"Do you need to make a living? ... It's just bargaining, I'm not leaving."

The above exchange was completed by the two on the data side. In other words, Kikuoka did not know the details of Vector's side. After hearing what she said, he immediately showed his sincerity.

"By the way, we don't accept cash. If a fight really breaks out here, who knows where the cash will go after the fight."

“Okay, the first payment will be sent to your account within half an hour. We can still access these funds.” Kikuoka hurriedly agreed to Vector’s request, then looked at the two of them expectantly. “This research is of great significance to us, and we can’t afford any mistakes. We’ll leave it all to you.”

"Don't worry, at least so far, the Cang Tong Squad's mission completion rate is still 100%. Although our ace hasn't come, even if it's just me and Ai Weixin, we won't let anything go wrong here."

Vector was genuinely feigning composure at this moment. Even though she was overjoyed to hear that Kikuoka would be transferring money in half an hour, she couldn't let her emotions show. Of course, she could still share her joy with Ivy, because this way of communicating wouldn't reveal the content of their conversation to the four people in front of her.

{500,000 yen, my little angel! After we finish this job, I'll take you shopping in Akihabara. I'll buy you whatever you want!}

Wait a minute, this should be the team's activity fund, right? And Vivi, this kind of behavior is usually called setting a flag, and Ivexin feels like we're about to get into serious trouble after you say that.

I've never believed in any of that. In other words, we are products of science, so we should believe in science; these mystical things...don't exist.

{Vivi has really changed a lot. The Vivi I used to see was quite indifferent in these everyday situations.}

{No, you just don't realize it. That has never changed. You'll understand once you've been in the team longer. You'll see how terrifying a shameless team leader is who spends three days using all the rewards from an entire mission to buy in-game items.}

Although he didn't know what had happened, Kikuoka was still quite bewildered when he saw Vector's face suddenly turn frightening.

"That's good, thank you for your help."

He left those words behind and turned to walk out through the door he had come in through. Seeing Vector like this, Ivy shook her head helplessly, then turned and gently hugged her.

"It's okay, just go and prepare. And... Ivy will take care of you. Even if the team's funds are all spent, Ivy still has some savings."

Vector didn't reply, but blushed and broke free from Ivy's embrace, then walked back up the stairs on his own. Seeing this, Ivy turned back and waved to the three below, then hurriedly followed Vector upstairs. The remaining three exchanged glances, then simultaneously sighed.

"It's so good to be young..."

Alicization, February 7, 2025

—The Seawolf-class nuclear submarine USS Jimmy Carter—

For the first time, Colonel Dario Ciliani began to regret taking on this daunting task less than a month before his retirement. He could have easily stepped down from frontline work, taken a civilian job ashore, or retired altogether. He had even chosen his successor—his first mate, Guthrie, whom he recommended would succeed him as captain; Guthrie was sure to be an excellent submarine commander.

However, just ten days ago, his superiors assigned him a strange and dangerous mission. This submarine was designed to support special operations, and he had hosted SEAL team members on numerous occasions using the "Jimmy Carter," but this time the guests seemed to be an uninvited group.

They boarded the ship two days earlier from the Guam base. When Colonel Chiliani saw the group, he almost ordered his men to throw all the thugs overboard. Some of the dozen or so men were lying haphazardly on the floor, some were wearing headphones listening to deafening rap music, and others were playing cards and gambling. Empty beer cans were scattered all over the floor.

"These guys are definitely not proper United States soldiers," Kiriani thought. More like mercenaries who'd tasted blood on the battlefields of the Middle East than well-trained soldiers. Only two seemed relatively normal to him. One was Captain Gao, who apologized to Kiriani for his men's misbehavior; his unsettling blue eyes left a deep impression on Kiriani.

The other was a mysterious figure from beginning to end. He wore a full-body combat suit, was slender, and hadn't uttered a single word since boarding the ship, not even removing his mask. However, Chiliani felt that he was the most dangerous person in the entire team, and their only weapon—he was the only one equipped with an R700 sniper rifle, meaning he was the only sniper in the squad.

Of course, Colonel Kiriani probably never imagined that the mysterious person completely wrapped in the combat suit was actually a young girl who had just come of age, and the only person in this operation who could be considered an official. That's right, "she" was actually Asada Shino, who had been forcibly ordered by the NSA to participate in the invasion mission a few days ago.

And coincidentally, Shino also viewed those mercenaries who resembled thugs in the same way. She felt very uncomfortable being around them, so she simply armed herself with an unapproachable demeanor, figuring those people wouldn't bother to probe her background anyway.

"First, I need to find a way to get out of their sight, then contact Vector or Ivyson... if they're here." Sinon thought to herself as she silently protected her R700. "They should be here, since that guy was recuperating here after being seriously injured. We still don't know what the NSA's bargaining chip is, or what it is about me that they're so keen on having me participate in this mission..."

She was deep in thought when a sudden voice interrupted her.

"Captain! The bow sonar is picking up a signal! It's the sound of the nuclear reactor turbine, we're checking... the acoustic signature matches, target detected, 15 miles away!"

It was the sonar operator's shout that jolted Kiriani and Sinon out of their reverie. Sinon hurriedly gathered all her equipment, while Kiriani focused on the battle, quickly issuing orders from the captain's seat in the command center.

"Very good, maintain the current depth, reduce the speed to fifteen knots."

His command was repeated, followed by a brief feeling of slowing down.

"Have you found the Aegis-equipped escort ship?"

"The sound of a gas turbine was detected three miles southwest of the target; it was Nagato of the JMSDF."

As Ciliani listened to the sonar operator's report, his eyes were fixed on the two dots displayed on the large screen in front of him. Leaving aside the Aegis-equipped ship for the moment, according to the intelligence, the artificial island was an unarmed oceanographic research vessel. His orders this time were to send those heavily armed thugs to storm the artificial island. Moreover, that ship belonged to Japan, which should have been an ally of the United States; he simply couldn't believe this was a legitimate operation approved by the President and the Department of Defense.

According to the NSA agent who brought the Pentagon's orders, Japan was conducting research on that artificial floating island as part of a plan to reignite war with the United States. Their mission, to maintain friendly relations between the two countries, was to secretly bury that research in the deep sea—quite a declaration characteristic of the United States, indeed.

"God help me... Damn it, why did I have to take on such a hellish assignment right before I was about to retire..."

Ciliani complained like this, though he couldn't possibly believe everything he said, but he also understood that he had no choice but to obey orders.

"Are those guys ready?" he asked.

"Everyone is on standby in ASDS, ready... that's what their captain said." The first mate beside him immediately responded.

"All right... Maintain speed, ascend to 100 feet, prepare for launch."

Compressed air pushed the seawater out of the water tanks, and the resulting buoyancy lifted the massive body of the "Jimmy Carter" upwards. Sonar signals also indicated that their distance from the point of light—the artificial floating island—was slowly and clearly decreasing.

The Japanese researchers probably couldn't avoid casualties... Chiliani suddenly thought, he probably wouldn't forget that he had participated in such a top-secret mission until his death. After hearing the first mate report again, "Five miles from target," he waved his hand forcefully downwards and then ordered:

"ASDS separated! Although I can't stand you guys... in the name of Poseidon, I wish you all the best!"

A subtle vibration traveled through his body, telling him that the small manned submersible had left the main body. In contrast, Shino was experiencing a much stronger shock. She felt the small submersible she was in accelerating rapidly, hurtling straight towards the belly of the giant sea turtle. And right now… she hadn't even come up with a plausible battle plan.

"Are we going to play it safe again? That's definitely a Sorinmarkov-esque tactic. I wonder how you're doing now," Sinon thought to herself. "I swear, since you dared to tie me to this ship like this, you should be prepared for me to defect at any time, shouldn't you... Damn NSA?"

Imperial Sword Cultivation Academy, Human Era 380, 1

A year has passed since they set off together. The two have now successfully entered the Imperial Sword Academy and completed their first year of study. Originally, Sorin still planned to let Eugeo attend school while he lingered, but at the strong insistence of the examiner from back then, Sorin decided to revisit the daily life of a student in this virtual world.

Of course, his daily life back then wasn't as boring as it is now. After all, there were too few entertainment facilities in the virtual world, so the only things he did to pass the time were writing in his diary, reading, and sparring with his senior female students... who is standing in front of him right now.

The two appeared to have just finished a battle; sweat beaded on Solin's forehead and cheeks, yet his expression suggested he remained completely at ease. The girl opposite him, however, stood there panting, her right hand gripping her sword trembling slightly.

"I feel that with your current strength, you don't need to continue your training as a swordsman here anymore, Sorin-chan."

The cold voice carried a hint of surprise. The brown-haired girl reluctantly sheathed her sword, looked at the slightly shorter, silver-haired cutie in front of her who was carrying a bunch of weapons, and then shook her head.

"No matter how many times I face this, I feel that there is no way to defend against this storm-like attack. Are all the fairies living in the forest as powerful as you?"

“I made a promise with someone to move forward together, so even if I become strong enough to become an Integrity Knight, I don’t want to abandon him.” Sorin also put the one-handed sword that was still in his hand back to his waist and relaxed his body to sit down. “And… of course, there are only a few people like me. Maybe most people prefer to stay in the forest and live in seclusion… to be precise, I’m the only one who likes to travel.”

"Is it that boy named Eugeo?" The girl sat down next to Sorin, gently pinching his chin with her right hand, admiring his blushing cheeks with great interest. "That boy is really enviable... And you know what? A lot of people have been speculating about your relationship with Eugeo, it's been like this for a year now."

"I don't even know what's there to guess, and besides, I'm a boy..." Sorin's tone was tinged with embarrassment, then he turned his head away as if in a huff, and gently pushed the girl's hand away with his left hand. "So please keep a proper distance, Senior Soldelina, thank you."

"You still address me so formally. Wouldn't it be better to call me Sister Lina?" Soldilina said, feigning displeasure. "Besides, you've never proven this in a more straightforward way, which has led many people to believe that this is just an excuse you're using to live with Eugeo. After all, here—the Imperial Sword Academy doesn't allow a couple of opposite sexes to live together."

“That’s why I said you’re overthinking it. He’s my friend. I only lived with him and helped take care of him out of concern for him.” Sorin said seriously, her gaze towards Soldirina unwavering. “But you guys who think about these things all the time… oh really.”

"Who knows? Maybe Sorin-chan is just being stubborn... I remember when you first arrived at the academy and were surrounded by onlookers, you carefully hid behind Eugeo." Soldelina said, watching Sorin's expression change from calm at first to increasingly guilty, and couldn't help but chuckle. "That's why I think Sorin-chan is so cute like this, this dishonesty..."

"Hey!"

"Alright, enough joking around, let's get back to the main topic." Soldirina stopped teasing Sollin and her expression became serious. "I always feel that your swordsmanship has a strange style. It's not for showing off, but for actual combat... to put it bluntly, it's born to kill."

“Your feeling is correct, because when I first started practicing swordsmanship a long time ago, all the enemies I faced were from other races. Can you understand? It was the kind of situation where there was no room for error, and if you made a mistake, you would face the crisis of death.”

Sorin sighed; this was the first time he had heard such a question. He had vaguely sensed before that there was no swordsmanship in this world that was truly used for actual combat. All the styles he had seen were more for show than for practical use. Only the "Seruil Style Combat Technique" used by the girl in front of him showed a slight tendency towards practical combat, but most of its techniques were still more for show.

"You might find it hard to imagine. Living in the very center of the city, even harming others is an unforgivable crime. And we... can only fight for our own survival, so it's quite normal for such swordsmanship to exist."

"If you have the chance, let me see... the complete 'Nine Swords of Dugu,' although I have a feeling you just made up that name." Soldirina's expression dimmed for a moment, but she quickly recovered and said expectantly, "The competition is the day after tomorrow. I really want to seek some breakthroughs before then, so I'll leave it to you."

“Your hunch was right. The real name of this sword technique is the Kismer Silver Moon Sword Technique, and Kismer is also the name of my teacher,” Sorin explained, then stood up from the ground. “Let’s call it a day. If we go back any later, we might miss the dormitory curfew.”

"Okay, take care on the road. See you tomorrow?" Soldirina waved goodbye to Sollin with a hint of reluctance and said.

"See you tomorrow."

His dormitory was a little far from here, but if he didn't dawdle on the road, he could still make it back before curfew. So after saying goodbye to Senior Soldelina, he hurriedly ran along the road. This world doesn't quantify specific attributes; if it did, Solin's agility would be at a very high level.

About half an hour later, Sorin appeared at the dormitory door. He looked up and saw that Eugeo, who had come out to wait for him because he was worried about him being late, was already standing in front of the door.

"Um...actually I..."

Sorin suddenly panicked and tried to explain, though he couldn't understand why he was acting this way all of a sudden. Eugeo, of course, didn't complain; he just smiled at him.

"Welcome back, Solin."

Imperial Sword Cultivation Academy, February 2, 380 of the Human Realm Calendar

Eugeo seemed to have been waiting at the door for a while, as it was already lunchtime. Students chatting and laughing were seen walking towards the cafeteria throughout the corridor; not many were standing here leisurely like the two of them. After all, everyone was in a hurry, something Eugeo and Sorin understood.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I was talking with Senior Soldelina for a while, which took a bit longer than usual." Solin explained his reason for being late. Although he hadn't exceeded the curfew, it was indeed later than his usual mealtime. "How did your conversation go?"

“I talked with Senior Gorgrosso for quite a while. He’s the kind of person who’s more theoretical, so he was quite curious about our swordsmanship. He even talked to me for a bit on this last day.” Eugeo stepped forward and helped Sorin unload the bunch of practice weapons he was carrying, then threw them onto his bed. “I felt like you had a pretty deep conversation with that senior. You usually don’t take all your practice weapons with you when you go out.”

“She’s still looking for a breakthrough, so I helped her out. It’s a very simple thing.” Solin didn’t seem to care much about the matter. He wiped his sweat with a towel hanging by his bedside and then came out again. “Let’s hurry up. We can leave the discussion about techniques for tonight, but the food in the cafeteria won’t wait for us.”

After a while, there wasn't a single student left in the corridor. They all seemed to have already found their seats in the cafeteria and started enjoying their dinner, while Sorin and Eugeo were obviously a little slower.