“Sandrone～ Sandrone～”
Columbina tiptoed over quietly, her fingertips hovering in the air for a moment before suddenly giving her back a gentle poke.
“Uwaa!”
Sandrone trembled slightly all over, the recorder in her hand almost slipping away.
She turned around swiftly, coming face-to-face with Columbina’s finger, which had not yet had time to retract.
“…Columbina, when did you wake up?”
She knitted his brows, a trace of annoyance at being disturbed floating in her tone.
“Tsk…
can’t you see I’m busy?”
Sandrone crossed her arms, glancing sideways at the complex data streams jumping on the instrument screen; those flashing curves and symbols were like a silent urging.
“When I’m focusing on work, don’t suddenly pop up like that to scare people.”
“Sorry, Sandrone.” Columbina lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt, “I called you many times from the side, but you kept ignoring me.”
“What is it?” Sandrone’s tone softened slightly, his voice calm.
“I’m a little hungry, and I want to go get some food with Sandrone.
How about we go to that shop from last time?” Columbina lifted her face, the corners of her lips curling into a soft arc.
Having been in Snezhnaya for so long, she had never properly tasted the special cuisine here.
Eat?
Sandrone glanced at the wall clock, then looked out the window; the sky had darkened by more than half without him knowing when.
It was already this late?
Damn it, she clearly said with full confidence in the morning that it could be done in half a day…
“Columbina, can you go by yourself?” Sandrone’s gaze fell on him, “That same shop, you know where it is.”
“Is Sandrone not coming with me?” Columbina asked softly, “After doing experiments for so long, you must be hungry too, right?”
“What I have on hand isn’t finished yet.” Sandrone turned back around, facing the flashing screen once more.
“But you haven’t rested from morning until now.” Columbina’s tone turned serious, “If you don’t go, then I won’t go either, and I’ll stay right here to keep you company.”
“Huh?” Listening to this childish, huffy remark, Sandrone helplessly rubbed the space between his brows.
As a creation of Alain, missing a meal didn’t matter at all; why was he so obsessed with him eating like this?
But Columbina was different.
His already frail body would only get worse if he didn’t eat again.
“I’ve already pre-stored credit for the bill at the shop, just sign my name.” Sandrone’s fingertips lightly tapped the desk, his patience gradually thinning, “Or…
do you want Pulonia to ‘accompany’ you?”
[Don’t need to pay?]
Columbina’s small face lit up slightly.
“Alright, since Sandrone says so…
then I’ll go by myself.”
Until those light footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, the thin shell of restlessness on Sandrone’s face gradually faded away.
This Columbina…
How strange, clearly the noisy person had left and his ears were at peace, yet when he truly left, a trace of unspeakable…
concern suddenly appeared deep within his own heart.
No, it wasn’t concern, it was just confirming that he wouldn’t cause trouble for himself, that’s all.
Just like how he didn’t know to pay last time he ate.
That was all.
And this damned reagent right in front of him.
Clearly able to detect the unusually rich Lunar Power contained within it, yet he still couldn’t analyze its specific components.
Going on like this, how could it possibly be reproduced?
“Pulonia.” Sandrone woke up the mechanical puppet in standby mode, “Help me decrypt this symbol.”
He pointed to the corner of the screen—where a string of abrupt characters lay quietly:
-.– —..- / -.-..- -.
/ -…-..-.
/ -…-…- -.- /..-..- -.
How bizarre, why would this signal suddenly pop up during the component analysis process?
Taking advantage of Pulonia’s calculation gap, Sandrone got up and brewed a cup of coffee.
Somehow, when she lowered his eyes to look at the dark brown liquid surface, Columbina’s clumsy appearance actually emerged in the swaying reflection.
“—Iced black tea, you haven’t drunk it before, right?”
“—Bitter melon juice, treating you to a drink.”
Heh, childish and clumsy sharing.
If it weren’t for seeing her pitiful appearance, he would never touch that kind of stuff.
It was either cloyingly sweet or so bitter it made him frown.
Truly hopelessly clumsy.
Sandrone took a sip of coffee, knitted his brows for a moment, and then silently added a spoonful of sugar.
Only then did his tightly knitted brow quietly relax.
This subtle change was caught by himself, immediately drawing a hint of self-mockery; she really was being led astray.
Putting down the cup, his gaze cast back toward the screen.
[97%…
98%…
99%…]
It was finally going to be completed.
A faint glimmer surfaced in the depths of Sandrone’s eyes.
With this, Columbina wouldn’t disappear anymore, right?
However, the moment the progress bar reached 100%, the screen suddenly turned blue, and countless garbled codes rolled and covered it like an avalanche. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
What’s the situation?
Sandrone stared at those chaotic characters, her brows tightly locked.
Having worked hard for so long, this was the kind of thing decrypted?
She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
“Hahahaha～”
A floating, breezy laughter suddenly drilled into her ears.
“Who?!” Sandrone’s voice suddenly turned cold, quickly scanning her surroundings.
The laboratory remained empty, with only the instruments humming softly.
Was it an auditory hallucination?
Just as she was doubting whether her auditory module was malfunctioning due to excessive fatigue, the garbled codes on the screen suddenly began to rearrange and combine, finally condensing into a distorted smiling face mask.
Sandrone:…
Infected with a virus?
“Aha has no face at all, Aha actually got treated as a virus.” That smiling face seemed able to see through his thoughts, and a sneering voice came from the speaker, “I am a helpful good Aha.
As long as you provide me with some fun, I will help…”
Fun?
Ridiculous and laughable!
“Pulonia, cut off the main power of the laboratory.”
As soon as the words fell, the screen suddenly darkened.
The room plunged into dimness.
Sandrone pushed open the laboratory door, and the thin moonlight seeping in from outside the corridor shallowly paved the ground, illuminating his slightly darkened face.
Who dared to throw this kind of thing into his system?
Columbina…
Where on earth did this reagent come from?
Or…
was this aimed directly at Columbina from the very beginning?
Everything pointed to a heart-palpitating possibility.
Columbina had already been dragged into a meticulously planned stage play.
And she, Sandrone, was trying to use scientific and mechanical means to peek into or even interfere with this stage play, thereby attracting the audience’s gaze.
And just now, she had let this main actor leave her field of vision alone, heading to a public place!
A faint unease flooded into his heart.
She no longer hesitated, issuing a silent command to Pulonia.
Immediately, it slowly squatted down, lifted Sandrone onto its palm, and walked quickly in the direction Columbina had left.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”