The two continued to walk one in front of the other through the small market.
The festive atmosphere around him made Sun Jack inexplicably comfortable; he hadn't been to such a place in a long time, and having Si Ai by his side made him feel as if he had returned to his early days in Metropolis.
The tension in his nerves slowly eased at that moment.
"I want to eat that," Si Ai said, pointing to a nearby barbecue stall.
"Give us 20 skewers," Sun Jack told the pianist dressed in a tailcoat working the grill.
"Please give me the time of a song," he said as his fingers lightly danced on the keys, the skewers roasting atop the smoking piano slowly began to turn.
A sad piano melody flowed gently between the two.
"What are your plans for the future?" Sun Jack asked.
"Not much of a plan, just continue being a doctor. Luckily, the market is good now, and being a doctor is quite a hot profession. It's like catching a booming season," Si Ai replied.
"Then, is there anything you need help with?"
"Not really, the Holy Grail is gone, and you've integrated the Leading Company; there's no malicious competition. Besides, your place is almost a communist economy now. As long as there are daily battles and people getting injured, I won't starve or freeze."
Sun Jack didn't know what to say after that, his expression complex. He didn't know how to face the Si Ai in front of him.
If Si Ai hadn't been cloned, it would be one thing, but he had been.
It was he himself who had asked Si Ai to come out, but after doing so, he didn't know what to say.
He had a lot to say to Si Ai, but when he thought about the Si Ai in front of him being a clone, he couldn't say anything at all.
During the silent wait, the skewers were cooked, and Sun Jack took a bite to find them exceptionally delicious.
"Come, I'll take you somewhere, to see someone," Si Ai said, leading the way with the skewers in hand.
Sun Jack followed behind Si Ai, moving forward. "Where are you taking me?"
"Just follow me; I'm taking you to see someone."
The two slowly moved forward through the market, eating as they went.
As they passed a jewelry store, they saw two AAs shopping. One AA picked up a red hair clip and pinned it on the other AA's hair. Both AAs immediately smiled joyfully and, holding hands, headed to a nearby noodle shop to eat.
Facing the new customers, a King Kong clone skillfully began pulling noodles. "Please wait a moment, I'll have your noodles ready immediately!"
Next to the noodle shop was an electronic chip repair shop run by a Neural Key clone.
A young boy with all metallic limbs joyfully walked by with a box, which had Sun Jack's full-body photo on its surface.
Seeing those familiar faces, everything here gave Sun Jack an indescribable sense of being in a dream.
It turned out the Holy Grail figurine clones had long been integrated here; it was just that he had never paid attention to this aspect.
"Look, we're here," Sun Jack pointed ahead following Si Ai's lead, and saw the towering figure in the distance.
It was Hilda, seven meters tall, building a church as if stacking up blocks.
The Sickle Hammer Cross proved this was a church of Liberation Theology.
"She was also cloned from the Holy Grail, but she belongs to the outdated leading actresses of last season, so not many of her were cloned. Additionally, because of her larger size, many died during the Battle of the Holy Grail, so only five of them are still alive."
"How do you know?" Sun Jack asked, struggling to contain his excitement.
"Of course I know, her heart and brain are both original and need maintenance, so of course, she had to come to me," said Si Ai before pushing Sun Jack, "Go on, go find her."
Sun Jack was pushed and took a few quick steps, but then he stopped.
He looked at the tall figure in the distance and after thinking for a while, he slowly shook his head. "No, my Hilda has already died, this is just her clone."
"And if she really were Hilda, she would want me to focus my energy on important matters."
Hearing this, Si Ai's eyes dimmed. "I knew you would do this. You wouldn't be Sun Jack if you didn't do it. Can I lean on you for a while?"
Then, Si Ai walked behind Sun Jack and reached out to gently embrace him.
"Hey, don't stand behind me, it makes me feel really insecure," Sun Jack tried to break free, but Si Ai held him tight. "Just let me hold you for a while!"
Sun Jack stopped, and soon he keenly felt liquid sliding down upon his coat.
Suddenly, Sun Jack heard Si Ai's voice turn serious, "Jack."
"Hmm?"
"Do you know? Rushing to get on the ship, everyone genuinely needs to abandon a lot, to cut loose a lot, but do you know why everyone agreed to embark in such a short time?"
"Why?"
"Because they trust you, trust that you won't harm them, believe that the words you once said are not lies, trust that you won't become the new Holy Grail."
"Although the people of Metropolis have always been opportunistic, those who are willing to board with you are really gambling that the words you said to overthrow the Holy Grail were true."
"So, you must keep going, everyone has given so much for you, so you absolutely cannot betray their trust, you definitely cannot let anything distract you."
Looking at the bustling crowd, and seeing all those faces, Sun Jack felt a heavy weight in his heart and firmly nodded. "I will, I absolutely will!"
Sun Jack took a deep breath, "Don't worry about that, some things, even if I want to turn back, I can't anymore. Nothing can stop me from continuing down this road."
"That's good," said Si Ai, his voice growing deep.
The two stood in the crowd, like two trees crossing each other in a slowly flowing river.
After a while, Sun Jack felt Si Ai release him. "Alright, let's go. There's a bar up ahead, how about we go have a drink?"
"Sure."
Sun Jack quickened his steps, when suddenly he spotted a sex doll vendor nearby, and seeing one that resembled Old Six, something dawned on him and he smiled knowingly.
As he was speaking, he turned his head. "Heh, Si Ai, look, isn't that just like that one at your home—"
He had barely finished his sentence when he realized that Si Ai was no longer visible in the bustling street.
The smile gradually faded from Sun Jack's face. He took a deep breath, lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and continued forward with his head bowed.