"Okay."
Lorna happily ran to the sofa and turned on the TV. They were replaying yesterday's fierce battle in New York. Even though Zane had returned, Lorna still felt nervous watching the intense scenes. She didn't even notice when Zane sat beside her.
"What's wrong?" Zane asked with concern.
Only then did Lorna realize that Zane had taken a seat beside her.
"Zane, I have a question to ask you. Of course, it's okay if you don't answer."
"Sure, go ahead. There's nothing we can't talk about between us."
"Were you on this battlefield yesterday?" Lorna pointed to the TV.
"Yes, I was there."
Zane straightforwardly affirmed, as he had mentioned before, there was nothing to hide between them. With many days ahead of them, Lorna would eventually discover these things. Acknowledging it openly now was the best choice. Moreover, it wasn't something shameful.
At this moment, the TV broadcasted Zane's majestic entrance scene. Zane watched himself on the screen with satisfaction. Although he didn't know why S.H.I.E.L.D. and the government allowed the media to air this footage, Zane didn't bother thinking too much about it. At present, he had the strength to disregard those people. With more than 30,000 resurrection instances under his belt, he wasn't afraid of nuclear bombs, let alone these insignificant characters.
Lorna, watching the TV and then looking at Zane's smug smile, hesitated for a moment.
"Is this person you transformed into?"
"Ah..."
Now Zane was confused. He looked at himself on the TV, transformed into the iconic Red A, completely different from his current appearance. The only similarity was that they were both men, and both looked handsome and imposing. Lorna's imagination had to be quite expansive to link them together.
"How did you know?" Zane asked in confusion.
"Guessing. Hehe." Lorna smiled triumphantly.
Zane felt a chill down his spine. Women's intuition was truly terrifying. In those stories from his previous life, it was said that women were like Sherlock Holmes in love, possessed the writing skills just below Mo Yan when heartbroken, and had combat power second only to Ultramen when angry. Zane used to take those as jokes, but at this moment, he was starting to believe it.
The fact that someone with completely different characteristics could guess the truth made Zane a bit unnerved. Now, even if Lorna said aliens were about to invade Earth, Zane would probably have to consider whether it was true or false.
Lorna's smile disappeared quickly, her eyes complex as she watched Zane's unparalleled prowess in slaughtering lizard people on TV.
"Zane, can you tell me in advance next time?"
"I…"
Zane was about to speak when Lorna's small hand covered his mouth.
"I'm not asking you to take me; I know you'd be distracted if I went. But I need to know where my man went and who he's fighting!"
Looking at Lorna with determined eyes, Zane playfully stuck out his tongue and licked the little hand covering his mouth. In the next moment, Lorna pulled her hand back like a lightning bolt and gave Zane a playful punch.
"I hate it; I am serious."
"Rest assured, trust your man. I promise you; I will definitely tell you next time."
"Um."
"Come on, the food is getting cold."
While eating, Skynet pushed the door open. Lorna looked at Skynet like an ordinary person. In her memory, this entity seemed to have 'melted' yesterday, and Lorna quietly activated her own ability to find that Skynet is made entirely of metal.
Zane also noticed Lorna's discomfort and took the initiative to introduce her to Skynet.
"Lorna, this is Skynet, the first intelligent life on Earth, now serving me. You two, get acquainted."
"Hello, Skynet."
"Hello, ma'am."
Lorna was delighted by Skynet's polite address, accepting the fact that Skynet was not a human.
After dinner, the two flew back to New York. Despite the events of the previous day, they didn't dwell on them.
Back home, Zane went to the study at Skynet's signal.
"Boss, the two individuals you ordered have been captured and are now confined in the laboratory. As for the mind control technology, it will take some time to improve."
Zane nodded satisfactorily and inquired:
"Where are we now? How much time until perfection?"
Skynet calculated silently.
"It will take about 20 days. Although it can control people now, it cannot retain human consciousness. The controller's brain will be destroyed instantly, leaving only a vegetable-like existence in the end."
"Well, speed up the progress as much as possible. Are there still a shortage of 'volunteers'?"
"Of course, with sufficient 'volunteers,' I am confident we can perfect this technology within 10 days."
"Good. You have my permission to allocate some of the funds from Skynet Technologies."
"Thank you, boss."
Skynet and Zane referred to volunteers as subjects for Skynet's human experiments. As for their source, prisons around the world were never short of condemned individuals sentenced to hundreds of years. With enough money and a convenient excuse, relocating these veritable scum to a 'prison' for experiments was an easy task.
Medical research and human development have always been intertwined with human lives. The truth, however, remains obscured from the public's view, manipulated by the authorities through the media. Zane, too, discovered this gruesome reality through Skynet.
At this point, Zane's curiosity was piqued. The last time he visited Skynet's laboratory, he only collected weapons without closely inspecting. Today, with some free time and the captured individuals on hand, he decided to take a stroll.
Thus, he left with a casual comment to Lorna, who was engrossed in studying her abilities, and joined Skynet on the way to the secret base.
The surrounding buildings diminished as they progressed, and the roads gradually became dilapidated. Eventually, Skynet drove into an abandoned factory, accompanied by a green data flow flickering in its eyes.
The factory floor split open on both sides, revealing an underground passageway. After Skynet's car entered the underground facility, the surface passage sealed shut, leaving only the two tire tracks as evidence of human presence.
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