Pandora successfully moved into my house. Despite many unexplained aspects of her identity, my sister didn't seem to mind at all, treating Pandora as her own little sister. Her overflowing sympathy made her oblivious to the fact that the "poor little sister" in front of her was actually an alien lifeform that almost conquered the world.
Maybe 80 to 90 percent of this was due to her unconditional trust in her brother...
As for me? When Pandora privately showed me her complete set of ID and credentials, I was genuinely startled. But thinking about the Xyrin Empire's technology, far surpassing humans in every way, it all made sense.
"This world's information storage and encryption technology are primitive and backward." Pandora dismissed humanity's proud modern computing technology with a flat tone.
"Pandora, are you sure you want to go to school with me?" Walking on the way to school, I glanced at the transfer certificate in Pandora's hand and felt a headache. I really didn't want such an unsettling factor among humans. Although I hoped she could integrate quickly, I was worried about her being alone. I feared she might be bullied but more so that she might bully others. Imagine waking up one day to find her torturing the President of the United States in our living room—that'd scare one to death...
"As the Emperor's sole Guardian in this space, I must stay as close to you as possible." Pandora's expression remained unchanged, but her tone left no room for doubt.
"Alright, alright, but remember what we agreed on beforehand..."
"Ah Jun!"
A voice from behind interrupted my whispered conversation with Pandora. I turned to see Qianqian running towards us, full of energy. How could she always be so happy?
"Ah Jun, why didn't you come to class yesterday? And you didn't even take a leave... Hmm? Who's this little girl?"
"Her name is Pan Lili, she's my sister."
"Your sister?" Qianqian looked at Pandora in surprise. She knew my background, so a sudden appearance of a sister surprised her, "You have a sister?"
"Yes, I never expected it either."
I explained Pandora's identity to Xu Qianqian just as I did with my sister and concluded, "That's how it is. Since both Lili and I are adopted, we don't know our original surnames. So, we gave up on changing Lili's surname. She is Pan, but she's truly my sister."
"Ah—" Qianqian opened her mouth in disbelief. Such a dramatic reunion of lost siblings seemed straight out of TV dramas, and now it was happening live in front of her. She didn't know how to react, "Really... unbelievable. Congratulations..."
Qianqian said, bending down to gently touch Pandora's cheek, "Your sister, she really can't see anything?"
"Yes," I affectionately stroked Pandora's hair and subtly pulled her back a bit. Although Pandora pretended to be a blind girl as I suggested to cover her eyes that couldn't focus properly, I still worried she might expose herself if too close.
"Lili's visual nerves are entirely fine, but perhaps due to intense psychological shock, she's completely blind now..."
I wasn't entirely lying. Pandora's eyes indeed couldn't see anything, but apart from these eyes, she could use 132 kinds of multi-band scanning radars...
"Is that so... But in that case, shouldn't she go to a school for the blind? Why does her transfer certificate say she's coming to our school?"
I had expected someone would ask this, so I smoothly replied, "That's true, but Lili insisted on being with me. I could only go along with her wishes. Besides, Lili is very self-reliant. Although it's tough, she can manage in a regular school."
Qianqian agreed, realizing continuing this topic might hurt the little girl's feelings, and changed the subject. I finally felt relieved.
Honestly, if Qianqian had insisted on digging into Pandora's situation, I would've been in trouble.
"Alright," at the school gate, Qianqian happily held Pandora's hand, "This is where you'll be studying from now on. How do you like it?... Ah, sorry, I forgot you can't see..."
"I don't mind." Pandora said flatly, then subtly moved closer to me, seeming unwilling to be too far from her brother.
At the same time, Pandora's mechanical voice rang in my mind, "One hundred seventy-five meters ahead on the left, there's a carbon-based lifeform with a danger mark. The individual is armed with rudimentary weapons of very low threat level. Should I eliminate it now?"
"What?" Pandora's report left me puzzled, unable to respond immediately.
At that moment, a "bang" sound came from our left!
Me: "..."
A school shooting! Why have absurd things been happening recently!?
But indeed absurd, and I encountered it. To be precise, a school shooting at a noble school happened right where I, a regular student nearby, could witness it.
With a series of screams, three tall men burst out from the Canglan Private High School nearby. Each held a gun, and it didn't look good—they seemed real. The man in the middle, as burly as a bull, was dragging a student who, from the blood-soaked pants, was the victim of that gunshot.
The three armed men, while holding the hostage, ran towards a white car not far away, shooting randomly around. Overly nervous, their bullets flew wildly with no accuracy. Even so, a couple of students got grazed and fell screaming—but if this continued, the next to fall wouldn't just be grazed.
At this moment, I couldn't care about the story behind the shooting in a noble school. Only one thought filled my mind: run... um, no, stop those men!
The impulse to run flashed for a moment— a normal reaction—but I quickly realized what I should do was stop them, not run. Impossible on my own. If I were my old self, escaping would be my only option, but now there was another choice.
"Pandora, didn't you say Xyrin Apostles are born combat species? Can you handle the current crisis?" I asked anxiously in my mind.
"Receiving external command set... analyzing vague command... executing!"
As Pandora finished, the sky changed. With a terrifying low hum, the sky turned dark red, and countless golden patterns appeared, forming a gigantic golden array over the entire sky. With its emergence, everything around us froze. Running students became statues, suspended dust turned into intricate particle clouds, and even floating paper pieces bizarrely froze in place, creating an artistic effect.
As everything stilled, Pandora-zero beside me entered combat mode. Green data streams like in sci-fi movies flowed as a silver alloy armor appeared on her, a translucent green visor covering her face below the nose, leaving only her mutated, pupil-less blue eyes gazing calmly ahead.
I took a moment to size up Pandora in her alloy armor and bizarrely remarked, "As expected—completely undeveloped."
Faced with such a surreal scene, my calmness was astonishing. Was my nerve that thick?
Pandora ignored my comment and continued to stare ahead coldly.
In such a moment, I could only sigh: Sci-fi—this scene was too sci-fi...