"Mrow..."
The young girl felt that the past week had been the happiest time of her life. She ate well, slept soundly, and was warmly dressed every day. Everything she wanted could be found in this house; it was simply paradise.
Oh no, staying too long, she even started to feel like this was her own home.
The girl turned over, yawned, and then lay back down to continue sleeping.
Never mind... I'll just treat it as my own home...
"...Click."
There was the sound of a key being inserted into the lock.
The girl's ears perked up instantly. She quickly got off the soft cushion and hid inside the wardrobe.
She dared not even take a breath.
Had the owner of the house returned? Oh no, was she about to be found out? The first few days could be considered breaking and entering, but the evidence of staying for a week wouldn't lie. She could be caught and beaten to death.
Less than three seconds after she entered the wardrobe, the door was pushed open, and footsteps entered the room.
"Hmm... What is this smell? Feminine?"
A man's voice.
The girl pursed her lips. She had been taking baths every day recently. Who wouldn't enjoy a bath with hot water?
But why could he still smell her, and why did he instantly know her gender?
Speaking of which, was she exposed now? He noticed someone had been here the moment he walked in. Was he going to search the room now...
The girl was ready to flee.
"Hmph... a thief? Whatever, I don't care." Unexpectedly, even though he knew a thief had entered, the man didn't seem to mind. His footsteps continued to move around the room. "Eating, sleeping, bathing, playing with a scratching post... such a rich and colorful life."
These were all things the girl had done in the past few days. Hearing that someone could discern her activities just by looking at the room made her blush slightly.
Then the man walked up to the wardrobe, reached out... and picked up the photo frame next to it.
Inside was a frontal photo of that boy. His gloomy eyes and flawless, expressionless face transcended time and reappeared before him.
"It's been a while since I last saw this face... It's truly disgusting."
The girl covered her mouth and listened closely, somewhat incredulously. She thought the person in the photo frame was either the man himself or his son, as who would place an unimportant person in the bedroom of their home?
But this man had genuinely said the words "truly disgusting" with a tone of revulsion.
Was there a reason for this?
"No one has gone into that door yet... Heh, at least she's somewhat sensible. I'll consider some dried rations as a reward for her."
After putting down the photo frame, the man's footsteps faded away. The girl's excellent hearing tracked the movement downstairs. Only after the person had genuinely left did she quietly emerge from the wardrobe.
That was close. She was almost discovered.
The girl let out a long sigh of relief and lay back down on the cushion.
By the way, was that person really the owner of the house? Could he be a relative or something? The boy was undeniably handsome, yet the man called him disgusting, so he might be a relative who disliked the boy.
A relative...
The girl licked the corner of her mouth, her eyes not looking particularly bright.
Suddenly, catching something in her peripheral vision, she noticed something under the photo frame on the table.
Instantly, the girl rushed to the table, picked up the photo frame, and saw a piece of paper with writing underneath.
[Before I return next time, or before that person comes here, you can temporarily live in this house. I have only one request: If the person in the photograph comes here, give him this key. I have ways of knowing whether you follow through honestly. You should be very clear about the consequences of trespassing. Finally, eavesdropping inside the wardrobe is not a good habit.]
A simple key was placed under the paper.
"Wh-what should I do about this..." The girl put down the paper, her eyes lost.
All of a sudden, she had been tied to this house.
...
"Dr. Einstein?"
Vil-V stopped turning her wrench and looked back at Mei curiously.
Mei had abruptly mentioned the name while discussing Prometheus II with her.
"I remember she's the one who proposed the theory of relativity, right?" Vil-V searched her stored memories. "She's currently researching quantum mechanics at the Sixth Branch in the continent of Mu. What about her?"
Mei replied: "Due to the temperature drop on the continent of Mu, most of the research staff will be relocated. Dr. Einstein will be coming to headquarters."
"...And? Are we going to have a science mad girl party? Should we go notify Mobius next?"
"If God were to roll a four-person die of intellect and the result was thirteen, you, Mobius, and Dr. Einstein would each be three, and you would be the extra point, Vil-V." Mei, uncharacteristically, complained about Vil-V's mismatched way of thinking.
Vil-V smiled casually: "Not necessarily. Dr. Einstein might not be a very sensible person either."
"You are very right. Einstein might not be a very serious person, and... God does not play dice." A slightly husky female voice came from the communicator in Mei's hand. "God only eats chocolate."
She was heard but not yet seen.
Vil-V raised an eyebrow: "Hoo... I guess this is Dr. Einstein?"
"Dr. Vil-V, nice to meet you, or rather, nice to meet you in fourteen hours and forty-three minutes."
"Doctor? Interesting. You're the first person besides Alpha to call me that. But I hope you can add 'Grand.' 'Grand Doctor' sounds very substantial."
A relaxed atmosphere was not difficult for two people who were relatively witty, but Einstein's call wasn't just to chat with Mei and Vil-V. The conversation quickly shifted to the main topic.
"Artificial intelligence has always been an interesting topic. From all aspects, this era already possesses the possibility of nurturing true artificial intelligence." Einstein chose an easy-to-understand topic as a starting point. "The Turing Test, the three laws of robotics, the singularity crisis concept... Perhaps many still believe it only exists in fantasy, but I didn't expect someone had genuinely created new life."
Vil-V shrugged: "Dr. Einstein, if you want to discuss artificial intelligence, I suggest you talk to Dr. Mei. I'm at most a surrogate mother in Prometheus Alpha's family hierarchy."
"But I am equally interested in the 'surrogate mother.' To be more blunt, I have a deep interest in the technology of both Dr. Mei and Grand Dr. Vil-V."
Einstein smiled: "Artificial intelligence and bionic machinery, plus a small personal idea of mine."
"Oh~ Then we can have a good talk in fourteen hours and forty minutes."
"Indeed. Perhaps before that, we can also have a science mad girl party."