While Lilly was explaining the current times with gusto, Eve was receiving a training course on gravity engines and thrusters. She had all the knowledge loaded into her mind making her a master of the craft in an instant. She looked over the engine and quickly found that a sensor had come loose. "Do you have any tools?"
"Huh? Ahh! Yes, one second, what do you need?" Lilly asked. She was feeling a little flustered after talking so much. She couldn't help but get angry at her own kind for how they treated her idol. She had also watched Eve to see if she had any reaction on the topic, but with her metal face all messed up, it was not something she could actually tell.
"A twenty-millimeter socket should do it," Eve replied. Lilly quickly handed what Eve asked for and watched on as Eve leaned under the hood and began fixing something. After about ten minutes, she stood back up and asked: "Lilly, you can try to start it."
"Alright!" Lilly seemed to have drunk a lot of coffee with how fast she was moving. She quickly climbed into the loader and fired it up. When she heard the whirl of the gravity engine, her face lit up as she let out a long sigh of relief. She was afraid she would have to abandon the loader. She did not want to face the old man's scolding.
Eve was watching all of Lilly's actions and found it funny how well this girl was taking the fact that she was speaking to an A.I. who could kill her at any time. Even Aiu couldn't help but comment on this fact. "It's like she is used to conversing with highly intelligent A.I."
"Mmm… This is a good thing, though. As long as she is able to help us, we can gain more shop points. There are a few alloys I want to buy from the shop but need to wait until I set up a base of operations. But to do that, I need a place where I can hide out first and repair what I can for the time being." Eve sighed inwardly. She hoped this would all work out. She hoped that Lilly wasn't just acting nice and planned to turn her in for some kind of reward or something. So far, all her actions seemed very genuine, but this did not mean she was not just good at acting.
"Just keep a good eye on her. If you see any signs of her betraying you, just kill her." Aiu's thought process was simple. If the human was going to betray Eve, there was no point in keeping her alive.
"Mmm.." Eve also felt Aiu's suggestion was a good one.
"It started! Thank you so much!" Lilly hopped out of the loader, ran over to Eve, and hugged her. "Owe... Hard.." She had bumped her head on Eve's metal frame.
"Pfft! Hahaha!" Eve couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't understand why this girl seemed so unique in her actions. Hearing Eve laugh at her caused Lilly to purse her lips. 'I was just a little excited, okay!'
"You came out here to gather parts, right?" Eve asked as she calmed down.
"Yeah, the junkyards are now charging crazy prices for parts. Even a small resistor was almost three hundred credits. I know parts are not in short demand as they get processed and sent over from the reclamation facility not far from here, so I do not know why the prices suddenly skyrocketed the past few months." Lilly complained.
Eve thought for a moment and wondered if there was an actual processing station at that facility. She had not seen anything of the sort, but then again, she did not search the whole place. "Alright then, besides what is here, let's roam around a bit more and see if we can find more. We might run into some more scavengers too, which will give us some high-quality parts. As you can see, I am in need of some repairs."
"Alright, but are you sure? They will immediately attack me, and they might have already sent a signal back marking you as a target as well..." Lilly was fine with putting her life on the line for parts. Her obsession was building A.I., and no parts meant no ability to do so. And that was just plain against her entire being. She would rather die than not be able to build A.I.
"Yeah, it's fine. I need some sturdier metal anyways. I plan to rebuild my head... Oh! I also need some chemical compounds. Were there any places around here with silicon and some lab equipment?" Eve asked. She knew she could not go around with a metal face forever, especially if she wished to roam around X-Cyber City.
"Umm, I am not sure about silicon, but I do know a place with lab equipment. There was an old bio lab a few streets east of here. But I do not think I can go inside. I am not sure if it is contaminated or not." Lilly answered.
"At least it is a place to start. Let's head out and see what we can find. I will test the air quality for you to make sure it is safe. If not, you will just need to hide and make sure you do not get seen." Eve did not wish to leave Lilly alone out here, but she needed these chemicals. Even if she could not find them, she could at least get the equipment she needed to make artificial skin.
"It's fine. I do not mind. I am used to being chased around. Today was just… I still can not thank you enough for saving me. I really thought I was going to die today because I made a wrong turn. So anything you need, just ask. I will do anything in my power to help you." Lilly meant this from the bottom of her heart. She truly thought her time was up. But because Eve saved her, she was able to survive and be talking to like she was now. This event only proved her long-standing theory that not all A.I. were bad. There were other A.I. out there like her Tezz.