"You pervert!" The young woman slapped Noa's left cheek and her face turned red from shame and anger.
Fortunately, he was slapped before he got to touch it.
"I didn't mean it—I swear. It's not me… It's my hand that did it!" Noa defended himself.
"And your hand doesn't belong to you?" she asked.
"This perverted hand! You've gotten me into trouble." Noa hit his own hand.
"I'm not falling for your cheap tricks," she sneered.
"No! It's true. I have alien hand syndrome," Noa frantically explained.
Noa could not stand that he was accused of doing something bad, while he had no intention at all.
A frown formed on the young woman's face, expressing disbelief. When Noa saw that, he knew that she didn't trust his words.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Do you think that can fool me?" The young woman scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It sounds crazy, but I'm really not lying," Noa said, his voice steady but helpless, "Have you never heard of that kind of illness before?" he asked her back.
"Obviously, no." She shrugged her shoulders.
Feeling frustrated, the situation forced Noa to give a brief explanation. Even in the face of an enemy who intent on killing him, he still didn't want his reputation as a good young man being tainted.
"It's a rare neurological disorder. My left hand sometimes moves on its own," Noa frantically explained, looking out of breath, "It sometimes happens to people after getting brain surgery—I had one as a kid. My hand even feels weak sometimes. I can't move it. Really."
The young woman's expression softened after hearing Noa's explanation. To her, it looked like he was telling the truth. But she was still skeptical.
"Let's say I believe that your condition is real. How will you explain why it's still not cured? The technology is very advanced now." She glared at Noa again.
Noa understood where she was coming from and nodded. "It could be suppressed for a while with an injection of suppressants, but it's still a permanent condition and it has side effects. I'd rather get used to it."
The young woman raised her eyebrows and said, "Fair enough." She started considering his words.
In a low voice, Noa followed up with an apology, "Still, I must apologize. It isn't right to touch… what I shouldn't."
Noa really meant it for apologizing and also that's the best way to do since an android was more powerful than a human. His gun would not be able to match her abilities.
The girl in front of Noa did not reply, but a blush had crept its way back on her cheeks. She crossed her arms and looked at him with pursed lips.
Gunshots sounded again from the outside. Another android army had come, breaking the door by bombarding it with bullets.
Noa was caught off guard, and his left arm reflexively shot out to pull the young woman by the waist, lowering her down to hide behind a table.
Because of his sudden movement, a device accidentally fell off his pocket, which he quickly picked back up.
Noa and the young woman barely had distance between them, so when the latter looked up at him, he felt warm air softly hitting his skin—it definitely wasn't from an android.
He wanted to ask her about it, but the sound of the androids' footsteps searching for them stopped him. All he could do was stare at the sunflower eyes in front of him.
The footsteps soon faded into the distance.
"You're breathing… Aren't you an android? How suspicious," said Noa with narrowed eyes.
Noa's curious gaze felt piercing to the young woman. She pushed him off of her, causing him to fall to the floor, and said, "Who said I'm an android?"
"If you're a human, then why are you attacking your own kind?" Noa asked. "Can you bear seeing what other androids have been doing to the humans?"
Her brows were furrowed as she avoided Noa's gaze. Her lips trembled as she fiercely replied with a sarcastic voice, "Like I have a choice? I received an order to work with them, what do you think I can do?"
Noa took action when he realized the young woman in front of him was not a killing machine as he had previously thought.
"Why? Aren't you afraid that they'll kill you too?" Noa lifted his armed hand and held her at gunpoint. "If you don't answer me honestly, I'll pull the trigger."
She looked Noa in the eyes and seemed to be contemplating what to tell him. "They want me to help with recovering some sort of data."
Noa was impatient. "And?"
"Androids can't do it. Humans can, so I'm useful to them and they won't kill me unless I do something against their wishes. AIs are intelligent, but they're not as flexible as humans. They know it, and that's why there are a select few exempted from being killed. But it doesn't mean that we're free. They're using a program to restrict us."
"Fortunately, I'm one of the best when it comes to hacking, so I saved myself from their control. But once they find out, who knows what will happen to me? The least I could do is pretend that I'm following orders," she added.
"You mean, orders to kill the innocent?"
"I have done nothing of the sort."
"You almost did."
"You might be holding the gun, but do you think someone like you could threaten me? I can kill you if I wanted. I just chose not to. Otherwise, you won't be talking to me now." Annoyance could be heard in her voice as she defended herself.
"Who knows?" Noa shrugged. "You could've changed your mind because you fell for me at first sight." He even raised his eyebrows.
Feeling offended, the young woman rolled her eyes as she shook her head. She even felt the urge to hit him.
"You think too much. I had no intention to kill anyone in the first place. Moreover the innocent one. That's it!"
Noa lowered his weapon and softened her tone. "Alright, never mind. What's your name?"
"So-Rin," she answered.
"Nice to meet you, So-Rin. I'm Noa Yoshiaki." He held out his hand.
However, So-Rin didn't take his hand and commented, "We have no time for this. More androids are coming. They won't stop until they finish their mission or until a command saying they can stop is programmed into the command line. Save yourself."
"Why? Worried that I'll get hurt?" Noa teased her again.
So-Rin quickly got used to his teasing and felt nothing when he did it again. She seriously explained, "No. Scientists are our only hope to fix this issue. Infrablack is now ruling the entire System. He can turn this world into hell and threaten human existence," So-Rin explained.
"I'll activate the lock to stall some time."
"Don't bother. Those androids can easily open it."
"Ugh. That's annoying."
"You wouldn't want to hear more about them."
"Okay. I need to look for my dad then. I'm sure those androids are also after him," Noa said.