Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

"Why me?" Reon asked. Her hand was on her chest and her mouth was open. She took a step back, hesitating.

"Because you are a girl," Akira said.

"And a scientist," Kyoryu added.

"You are wearing the least suspicious clothes, and you know about how things work here. So you are perfect for visiting the front desk," Kakashi declared.

Reon glanced at Hitori with puppy eyes. He knew what everyone was suggesting was the only best option, so he could not let himself melt– he rarely did, anyway.

"Please, do this for your brother," Hitori said, then he could say no more. He turned to Eya. He widened his eyes and then moved them at Reon– signaling her to convince Reon.

"Yeah." Eya nodded, then to Reon: "Y-You want to see your brother, right? Then will you please go to the front desk?"

Reon gulped. She had to, and she knew that. "I will." She nodded.

"Good. So go to the man. If he asks for your ID, refuse," Kakashi said, "and tell him you entered, now he does not need to see the ID."

"But what if they check the log? They have an Entry Log where they—"

"We will leave by the time he checks the log and sends guards."

"Or, maybe she can just show him an ID?" Akira raised his hands. "Safe, right?"

Reon shook her head. "No," she said, "they will cross-check your ID in their database before letting you go– and they will not find this made-up lady on the— wait." She opened her mouth and let it hang for a moment before closing it and saying, "I can just show him my ID if he asks."

"The point is to not let him see your ID. If he sees your ID but never sees you enter the hospital, our plan is ruined." Eya was breathing heavily now.

"Yes, and if he says he never saw you enter– just make something up," Kakashi said, and Reon frowned at that. "Do you understand?"

Although the plan was pretty simple at the start and now they have complicated it, she nodded and prepared herself. "Rion Hiroshi's room number."

She doubled checked the two guns on her side. If she had to enter from the main entrance, she would have been caught with the guns on her– that is how tight the security there is with all the metal detectors. People are working on guns made of wood, plastic, and glass– but that has only a little success. They could not create rifles from that material.

"Take this ring." Eya took her ring and handed it to Reon.

She held it in her hand and examined it before asking why and what i is for.

"Hitori-san had enchanted it when he suspected us as the killers. He never removed it and we never tried to remove it either. So take this."

She glanced at Hitori– she remembered the talk they had had in the Pontianak Lair. Hitori had told her something about suspecting the VR-cade worker. "W-What enchantment is this?" she asked.

"When you go to the front desk, we will hear whatever you say."

"So it is a sort of… Bluetooth? Like a walkie-talkie?"

Hitori frowned. "Y-Yeah, but you can not hear us talking to you."

"I will keep you updated on the situation."

Kyoryu walked past Hitori and stopped around the corner. He took a peek outside, then came back. "Two cameras at the front. No guards, but the robot doctors are checking on the patients."

Reon gave him a thumbs-up, then walked to the corner. Kyoryu stepped back to let Reon check the surrounding for herself once. After she was done, she gave Hitori a last glance before taking off.

Hitori went to a wall on the back and leaned against it. Only he could hear what she was saying– so it was his job to tell everyone what was happening.

For two minutes, he heard nothing but the robots wheeling around, the clanking of metal and machinery. Then she talked to him.

Hitori raised his eyes– Eya and Akira were focused on him while Kakashi and Kyoryu were looking out for the robots and guards– and said, "She sees the robot at the front desk. It is leaning over a hologram screen. She is approaching it and will reach in T-Minus…" Hitori paused and waited till he got the signal from Reon, "...ten seconds."

She held the ring down and her breath up as she counted down for Hitori. "T-Minus five… four…"

"T-Minus three, two… One."

"One. Hey," she said, "I want to ask the room number of Rion Hayashi."

"And who might you be? Can I see your ID?" the robot asked.

Hitori clicked his tongue. "It asked her for the ID."

Kakashi glanced at him with wide eyes but then nodded. "As expected."

"What did she say?" Eya asked.

"What we had told her to say. 'Why do I need to show the ID when I am already in?'"

"Good one." Akira sighed with a hand over his chest.

Silence for a moment, then the robot said in its mechanical, autotuned, voice, "How come you do not know the room number of the patient you are meeting?"

"Because the patient has deceased. I did not admit him and I am his only relative. So I came to see him, but then realized I do not know my deceased brother's room number, his resting place."

"She is cleaver than I thought she would be," Kyoryu said. "We will be alright if things proceed this way."

They forgot one thing, though. You can not see even a single robot on the mage side, so they were unaware of the fact that emotions do not work on robots.

"Let me check," the robot said. Silence again, but it was long this time. For a second, Hitori thought she was caught. But then the robot said, "Rion Hayashi, room number 263. Is that whom you are looking for, ma'am?"

Reon hummed an answer. "Thank you very much." She turned and whispered, "Hitori—"

When the robot interrupted her. "Sorry, ma'am, but I never saw you coming in. Can I know your name so I could check it in the entry log?"

Silence on both sides. Reon could not think of a reply and the people in front of Hitori could not choose a response, except to state their feelings.

"That robot," Kakashi muttered. He gritted his teeth and leaned back.

Akira glanced at him, then glanced at Hitori. "We never thought about that…"

"If your friend is as clever as I think she is NOW, then she will get out of this."

"She will," Eya said, "I know she will." Or she wished Reon would get out of the situation.

Just so you know, emotional blackmail does not work on robots.

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