It wasn't long before, inside this hover car emblazoned with the Utopia Security logo, Xiao Ting's dream from five years ago finally came true.
An hour later, her face flushed with emotion, she hugged Linda Linda tightly, her mind blank as she stared at the ceiling of the hover car.
Linda Linda, lying on her side and looking at her, noticed the grief on her face had vanished without a trace and smiled softly before saying, "Do you feel better now?"
Regaining her senses, Xiao Ting slowly curled up and snuggled into Linda Linda's embrace.
Linda Linda gently held her, repeatedly stroking her back, which was covered in circular metallic ports, with a look of tender warmth in her eyes that used to be full of allure—she looked at Xiao Ting as if she were her own child.
"Why did you do this? Was it Sun Jack who told you to do it?" Linda Linda asked with a hoarse voice.
"Do you think he would let me become his ex-girlfriend to sleep with you? You have to keep this a secret from Sun Jack, otherwise, if he finds out, he'll definitely cause trouble for my sister," Linda Linda said as she reached out and gently patted the other's head.
"Then why comfort me like this?"
"Ah, I'm just too soft-hearted. Seeing you upset made me feel uncomfortable too, so I wanted to help you."
"Liar! I don't believe you! You are just Sun Jack trying to control me!"
Upon hearing this, Linda Linda opened all the ports of her system without hesitation. "If you don't believe me, you can take a look at my memories."
After quickly scanning through Linda Linda's memories, Xiao Ting abruptly looked up, her emotions flaring.
It was true—she had said the truth! All of this was indeed her own choice, not Sun Jack's command!
"Come with me; don't stay with Sun Jack's company! No matter what he has given you, I will give you ten times more!"
Linda Linda shook her head slightly. "You offer ten times more in a moment of emotion, but what about when that feeling fades? Don't let your emotions control your thinking," she said.
With that, she reached up to remove her Hilda's faceplate, revealing the blank innards underneath, then she picked up her own faceplate from the ground and put it back on.
"Why do you all choose Sun Jack! Why won't anyone choose me!!" Xiao Ting wanted to retreat back into the network once again.
"Do you know why I'm willing to work for Sun Jack? Because he's trustworthy; the things he promises, he can deliver. There are too few people like that in Metropolis," she said.
"Trustworthy?" Xiao Ting murmured to herself.
"You might say the people of the Rat Alliance Battle Line are all crazy, but I'd rather deal with such people. We might not say it, but no one is blind," Linda Linda continued.
"I know you hate Sun Jie, but I hope you won't oppose him directly, can you do that?" Linda Linda gently touched her head.
"Why would you help him? So, you like him too? What's so good about that idiot anyway?"
"No, our relationship is strictly business; I don't mix in feelings. Talking about feelings is a losing game for me—not only would I have to give him freebies, but I'd also be working for free."
"I help him only because if he's gone, then I'd have to go back to being a prostitute," she said.
"I hope that's not something you would want me to go back to, right?" Linda Linda said, before leaning down to kiss her gently. "I could have endured the darkness if I hadn't seen the light."
"My interests are now highly tied to his, and I really hope I will never have to carry out Sun Jack's mission to use emotions against you, because that would truly make me very sad," she said.
"Besides, it doesn't make sense for you to hate him because of Hilda, if you truly care about someone, then you should see things from their perspective."
"Even though Hilda is no longer alive, do you think she would have wanted you to target the leader of the Rat Alliance Battle Line? Would she have wished for their organization's last spark to be extinguished?"
Xiao Ting, reflecting on her past, froze in expression.
Was that so? Why had no one ever told her these things before?
"If it's just about expressing one's own emotions and not caring about what others think, then I feel that Hilda, as a high-ranking member of the Rat Alliance Battle Line, wouldn't have been that type of person, right?"
Naked, Xiao Ting lay back down, staring blankly at the car ceiling.
Truthfully, she didn't know; she had never bothered to understand the Rat Alliance Battle Line. She had only cared about Hilda back then, or else she wouldn't have been unaware that Sun Jack was the leader of that organization.
Now, thinking carefully about it, she realized she hadn't really tried to understand the real Hilda. Why would such a scheming and cunning woman as Hilda have joined an insane organization like the Rat Alliance Battle Line?
Could it be that all her scheming and cunning were for the sake of the Battle Line?
At this moment, Xiao Ting felt a deep sense of defeat. It seemed that Sun Jack understood the Hilda of the past better than she did.
Seeing that the other party had started pondering things, Linda Linda felt that her objective had been achieved.
"Whatever you choose, just remember that I can help you if you ever feel upset again," she offered.
Linda Linda said this, then got dressed, opened the door of the hover car, and stepped out.
When she arrived at the company lobby, Tapai, in Mimetic Camouflage, gradually appeared beside her, slowly raising a thumb. "Little B Lamp, high rank, got Xiao Ting wrapped around your finger."
Linda Linda rolled her eyes at him and pulled out an electronic cigarette from her underwear, taking a drag. "It's just a job for pay. What has the boss been up to lately? I haven't seen him around."
"Haven't seen him? Isn't his presence all around the company?" Tapai casually pointed at a clone.
"I'm talking about the original, tell him that Xiao Ting is just an overgrown child, there's no need for violence to deal with her. If you ever fall out with her, just hand her over to me."
"Sure, we'll talk about it when the time comes." Tapai disregarded the remark; Sun Jack's orders always had the highest priority. If Xiao Ting harbored any ill intentions, he would be ready to take her out at a moment's notice.
"I'm serious, I'm not joking with you," she insisted.
Tapai slowly turned his head to look at Linda Linda, and a large red exclamation mark popped up. "Have you forgotten Sun Jack's words? Keep your kindness for when it's needed," he reminded her.
"If I find out that you've compromised Sun Jack's interests for someone else's sake, I will take all necessary actions," he warned.
After these words, Tapai gradually vanished into the air.
Thinking about the situation on both sides, Linda Linda felt irritated and slapped herself hard.
"Stupid bitch! What good is your sympathy! You sympathize with others! When has anyone ever sympathized with you!" she scolded herself.