It's now been two weeks since the first round ended. On the eighth day of August, Aoi knocked on Fei's door at 4 am in the morning. She banged on his door so loud others woke up because of it. Fei opened his door half asleep. "Please have a good reason," said Fei drowsily. Aoi slapped both his cheeks then headbutted him. "I'm giving you ten minutes to freshen up and pack your things. We're leaving the island for a couple of days" she said before slamming the door closed. Fei did as told even though he didn't want to.
"If she headbutts me again we're gonna have a problem," said Fei.
Ten minutes later Aoi busted Fei's door open and dragged him out of the room. He was in the middle picking between two jackets. "For someone so fast I didn't expect you to be so slow" complained Aoi. She ordered Fei to give her a piggyback as they exited the cave. He was hesitant at first but Aoi forced herself on his back. "I was thinking about being carried in your arms but that will just make me look like your princess which I am not. This way is better" said Aoi. "Why should I carry you?" asked Fei. "Your speed should carry us north to the island in a minute or two. There's an open field there where my assistants are waiting for me" she replied. Fei ran with Aoi on his back.
"Don't joke about her weight! Don't joke about her weight! Don't joke about her weight! Oh god please help me keep my trap shut!"
Fei told himself those words repeatedly while carrying Aoi. She wasn't too heavy for him to carry but Fei finds it difficult to ignore an opportunity to tease or provoke someone. He bit his lips so hard it started bleeding but the pain wasn't enough to distract him. "My backs killing me. I wonder why" Fei said out loud. He just couldn't help himself. Aoi jabbed her right index finger in Fei's eyes and shouted "I'll give you an eye patch like Ronald's daughter!".
"SAY IT AGAIN!"
"BOY, YOU DON'T KNOW ME DO YOU! PEOPLE SHOULD FEAR ME NOT INSULT ME!" she shouted in Fei's ears. He expected it to happen so he prepared himself for it. Three minutes later they made it to an open field covered with fine grass. A helicopter with the logo HEP was there waiting for them. A pilot was already inside expecting Aoi's visit. "Miss Aoi it's been a while. Please come in" said the pilot.
"Hey, Zeff. The boy with me is Fei. Fei this man is my pilot and just my assistant in general. Even when he's off duty he follows me around like some nuisance" said Aoi.
"That's cold"
They wasted no time entering the helicopter and took flight. While in the helicopter Fei asked, "Where are we going? To Arcland?". Fei turned to look at Aoi but a magazine hit his face instead. The Cover Page said "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE". A picture of a large institute was under the title.
"That's one of HEP's Laboratories. My Company is divided into four Branches. The Western Branch /Division deals with Computer and Mechanics. The East makes weapons while the South focuses on Human Biology. Aoi stated. "What about the West?" asked Fei curiously.
.....
Fei understood the silence. There are things that people like Aoi can't simply tell. Especially those who she barely knows. Fei opened the magazine and read the first couple of pages.
Human Evolution Program West was founded by Aoi Quin in 1999. Ever since then it's been performing at its peak creating Artificial Intelligence left and right to replace human labor throughout the globe. In HEP WESTERN DIVISION there are only four people who work there. Everything else is managed by computers. The world isn't ready to accept what this Institute has to offer so on multiple occasions there have been attempts to shut down their operations. In 2010 Aoi made a public speech in Dome that shocked the world. "Computers are better than humans. I hope that one day you can all become one. It's not easy for us to do what we're told effectively. Don't let me get started on human emotions either. Try as you might but my Western Branch will not be shut down"
Again in 2014 when Bea was created. BEA's purpose was to run the East Division by herself. She outclassed every computer that came before her. Able to do 480 tasks simultaneously without being tired was somewhat unbelievable at the time. There wasn't anything that BEA couldn't do. She was the perfect hacker to have ever existed. Before too long BEA started working outside of HEP. She helped out many large institutes that were suffering financially. Perfect Cement and Concrete Limited is a prime example. This Company found it to make concrete in a sufficient time. They always fell behind their schedule because of their daily orders and the limitations of the employees. When BEA went to their aid in its first week PCC Limited exceeded their production rate by 15%. BEA replaced over twenty workers in charge of making concrete and promoted the company's cement that wasn't really being bought. BEA saved the company from shutting down. Another great example was a shipping company known as Cruez's Path. The company was already prospering but BEA made its progress even further. BEA made Cruez's Path the number one international shipping company in a span of a year. By helping those businesses the economy grew gradually. BEA even helped out at schools. Through television, BEA was able to punish students by blackmail whenever they commit crimes.
There were a few concerns about BEA's existence but they were all ignored.
In 2017 Aoi Quin made a sudden appearance on Rex's Television and announced the Shut Down of the Human Evolutionary Program Eastern Branch. It's a mystery why the sudden Shut Down occurs but speculation says BEA is the cause. Aoi refuses to let the public know why. BEA stopped helping businesses prosper right after Aoi's announcement. They eventually had to shut down because of their huge dependence on the AI except for Cruez's Path. Harriot Fong foresaw the outcome and didn't fire any hard workers, unlike the others.
Fei stopped reading for a moment and stared at Aoi. "So we're going to the HEP WESTERN DIVISION. Why? Didn't you shut it down?" asked Fei. Aoi nodded yes in reply. "I may have shut it down but that doesn't mean it's useless. There's someone there who could be of use to you. With her your victory is assured" said Aoi confidently.
"Sweet but the rules clearly state no outside help from someone," said Fei.
"You won't be helped by a person and besides you will be keeping this person a secret. Rules break every Dragon Hunt. Nothing special to be honest" said Aoi.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're taking me to BEA," Fei said nervously. Aoi chuckled softly at his response. She remained quiet for the rest of the trip while Fei continued to read about HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY PROGRAM EASTERN DIVISION.
Later on that day around 5 pm they arrived at their destination. On a small private island right next to Dome there was a large complex with skyscraper size buildings. Aoi told Fei to wait outside on the island while she entered the closed buildings. She didn't want him to witness anything that would prove detrimental in the future. While she was inside Fei took a tour around the island. He saw that it was quite different from Apsychos.
There's the road for vehicles to drive on. Robots populate the island as to how humans would populate. A large radio tower was located south on the island. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "It would be lame if I don't enter any of those buildings," thought Fei to himself. When Fei was looking around he snuck behind one of the skyscraper buildings and read the sign. "HEP Laboratory" Fei read. He checked the other buildings and read "HEP Archive and HEP WESTERN DIVISION HEADQUARTERS". The laboratory piqued Fei's interest so he tried opening the front door which to his surprise it was already opened. He knew this was the building that Aoi entered. She went inside the Archive building, not the laboratory.
"That's odd," said Fei. He slowly entered the building with the feeling of regret. Eastern Branch was supposed to be shut down but for some reason that door was open. "Someone was in here before me," said Fei certainly. The laboratory had 18 floors. Each floor dealt with different matters. Most of the building was empty but there were still old blueprints pasted on the wall along with rusty old tools on the table. On the third floor, there were giant and heavy machines that were beyond Fei's understanding. A giant metal ball with a small sphere at the center with the color green. There were beds with the big screens right above it connected. Fei didn't know what any of these were for but he still appreciated the chance to see them. When he moved up on the fifth floor Fei's phone started ringing.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Fei answered it casually and said "Hey, what's up"
"You tell me. I can hear where you are you know. Why are you inside my lab? How did you even get in? Just be warned that if you take a tour on the fifth floor then your body won't be discovered. Be wary that your father has no idea you're with me right now so I would be Scott-free if I killed you. The fifth floor isn't ready to be shown to the likes of you" said Aoi surprisingly calm. Fei hung up the phone and finished his tour. "If Aoi and I fought I would surely win. Unless she has some Elite Guard" said Fei. He met up with Aoi in front of the Archive building where she kneed him in the stomach.
"How did you get in the laboratory?" asked Aoi curiously.
"The door was open. Every door in that building is accessible for some reason. It took me by surprise too" said Fei. Aoi sighed at his response then took out her phone.
"SOR!" she shouted. The second she did a face popped up on Aoi's phone screen startling Fei. "YIKES! The hell's that" shouted Fei. A blonde-haired man with glasses on was on Aoi's screen. She pushed the phone towards Fei for the face to introduce itself. "Good evening Fei Fong. It is an honor to meet the son of Harriot. I am SOR. An Artificial Intelligence made to secure the facility while everyone is away. Along with three Elite Guards, we work together as protectors" the face smiled.
"So explain two things. Why can't I find BEA anywhere? Why is the front door to my Laboratory open? Where are my Guards? Normally I would have seen Ava by now" asked Aoi upsettingly.
SOR showed them video footage of what happened. An old man with a boy trespassed on the island without permission. SOR did nothing to stop their advancement on the island. He left everything on the Elite Guards.
"That's what happened. Before you left the care of the island in my hands you told me that there are two people I must never harm or disobey. First being you and the second being Stephano Jupiter" stated SOR.
"The professor came here without my knowledge and took BEA no less. He must have a good reason not to call me" Aoi said to herself. "Or it could be that he stole it. Can't trust people who wear lab coats" said Fei. Aoi kneed Fei in the stomach again then started thinking. "I know Stephano since I was little. I'd go as far as to call him my father. He wouldn't steal from me and even if he did it's probably for my own good" said Aoi.
Fei couldn't believe a load of bull coming out of Aoi's mouth. Someone trespassed on the island unannounced and took a prized possession and didn't even have the decency to close the doors. "What should I do Ms. Aoi? If you'd like I can track down Jupiter's location in a matter of minutes" said SOR. Aoi nodded yes in reply then put her phone in her pocket. "What a mess. I wanted to lend you BEA to ensure your victory in the Dragon Hunt. More than anything I want your sister to survive. She would be living a happy life now if it wasn't for me" Aoi said as she slapped her cheeks.
Ten minutes passed and SOR popped up on Fei's phone this time. "He's very far from here. It will take approximately 30 hours to reach his destination" said SOR. "Let's get moving then. I have to confront Stephano about this. He didn't join the rest of us with the Dragon Hunt but he decided to take something from me without my permission" said Aoi both upset and sad at the same time.
SOR asked "Can I accompany you? I'd love to travel with Ms. Aoi"
"Yeah, show us the way," said Aoi.
"Aren't you going to visit the Elite Guards while you are here?" asked Fei.
"Nah, I am not here for them" she replied.