Kino strolled in front of the display cabinet, inspecting it with an air of contemplation. "I still need a weapon for myself."
Zhou Xi, following behind, tilted his head, asking, "Still cold weapons, right? Swords, spears, staffs, axes, bows, crossbows, hammers, claws, scythes—what do you want?"
Kino replied, "I haven't decided yet."
Zhou Xi nearly exploded with frustration. "I swear, you people from the A-side never make up your minds! You don't clarify your needs from the start, then, once it's done, you want me to change everything, and after all the revisions, you go 'oh, actually, the first version was better'... Ahhh! Just thinking about it drives me mad! No, you need to tell me clearly, or I won't do it!"
Kino smiled helplessly, "I really haven't decided yet, which is why I need your advice. Ideally, it should be a weapon versatile enough to adapt to various complex battlefields. A single type of weapon feels too limiting."
"Adapt to complex environments... you mean it needs to be tactically versatile?" Zhou Xi suddenly had a thought. "Ah, right, come take a look at this."
She led Kino through the automatic doors, past the fingerprint and iris scans, and entered the core research room after inputting the 108-digit dynamic key for the Hilbert matrix and Caesar cipher deviations.
In the sealed chamber at the center of the lab, something caught Kino's attention.
It was a droplet of liquid metal suspended in mid-air, shimmering with an almost ethereal brilliance, its curves rippling like the waves of a dream. Its surface, perfectly reflective, mirrored the surrounding scenery with flawless purity, as if watching it would somehow taint its immaculate form. It seemed like a tear that had fallen from the eyes of a god, and all literary language paled in comparison to its presence.
Kino's artist soul was instantly captivated, unable to look away. "What is this?"
"It's nothing," Zhou Xi replied with a mysterious, cryptic smile. "It could be anything."
"What do you mean?"
"This is a form of free-floating matter. You've studied enough chemistry to know that atoms or ions interact with one another through what we call 'chemical bonds'—ionic, covalent, metallic, and so on. These bonds connect atoms, combining them into substances, which make up the material world we live in. What you see in front of you is a liquid substance that has broken the chemical bonds between atoms, yet hasn't yet reformed into a solid—this is a stable free state, one that can exist without disintegrating."
Kino's pupils dilated. "You mean it can turn into any substance?"
"Yes, if we fix the data, it can become anything—gold, for example." Zhou Xi paused, adding, "But turning it into gold would be a waste. The materials and energy required to create this free-floating substance far exceed the value of the gold itself."
"But if we could turn it into uranium, plutonium, deuterium, tritium—those materials, that would revolutionize technology."
"In theory, yes. But in practice, not really, because not all substances can be transformed into this free state. It requires elements with an atomic number greater than 92. These transuranic elements are extremely expensive. Using them to create free-floating matter, then converting it into nuclear materials, is impractical. It's like trading a pound of gold for a pound of iron."
"What's its practical use right now?"
"At the moment, it's a monumental breakthrough in technology, but there's no industrial application for it yet."
"Will it help with my needs?"
"You want a weapon that can adapt to complex battlefield environments. I have an idea. Since it can become any material, I can calculate a set of data to turn it into a strong interaction force material in a quark state. Moreover, this transformation is reversible—it can switch back to its free-floating state or become something else. Imagine this: in everyday situations, it can be a table, a tree, a coin. But when faced with an enemy, it could instantly transform into a weapon based on strong interaction forces. This adaptability makes it ideal for complex battlefields."
"Can current technology create strong interaction force materials?"
"Not yet. There's still a vast gap in the field of microscopic physics, which means I'd need a long time for research and experimentation. I would have to focus entirely on this project, with no distractions."
Kino understood. "Name your price."
Zhou Xi grinned slyly, rubbing his hands together. "You're my VIP client, so I'll give you a discount—987654721033."
Kino froze. "Are you treating me like a pig to be slaughtered?"
Zhou Xi retorted, "What's the big deal? It's just the price of a hundred figurines! Can't afford that? And you claim to have been to the second dimension?"
Kino sighed, "Fine, I'll owe you. Payment in installments."
980 billion? Even if one point of respect could be exchanged for 100,000 of last life's currency, that would still amount to 9,800,000 points of respect. Who knows how long that would take to accumulate?
Fortunately, they were very familiar with each other, and Zhou Xi agreed to the installments. He would begin the research immediately.
"By the way," Zhou Xi suddenly remembered, "we can't exchange material between two worlds, so does that mean I can only use the materials you provide?"
"Yes," Kino entered the respect system and found the free-floating material Zhou Xi mentioned, costing 10 points of respect per gram. The unit price was even higher than atomic energy materials.
Kino pointed at the sealed chamber. "Can this container hold more of the free-floating material?"
"It can, but it's best to open a new chamber to avoid mixing it with the existing one." Zhou Xi walked to a separate compartment, opened a new sealed chamber, and gestured for Kino to place the material there.
Kino had used 200 points of respect to exchange for cash and now had 224 points left. He converted them into 22 grams of free-floating material and transferred it directly into the new sealed chamber.
Zhou Xi, watching the material appear out of nowhere, stared in disbelief. "Was this in your space ring?"
Kino shook his head.
Zhou Xi raised an eyebrow. "You have some method, some cost, to exchange materials out of thin air?"
Kino remained silent.
Seeing Kino's silence, Zhou Xi changed the subject. "I'll start the research soon. Once we succeed in creating strong interaction force materials, I promise you, no matter what strange power your world has, nothing will be able to pierce it."
Kino added, "But the total mass is an issue."
Zhou Xi, inspecting the data in the new sealed chamber, replied, "Yes, the gaps in microscopic physics mean there will be many failed experiments, consuming a lot of free-floating raw materials. You've brought 22 grams of free-floating material, but the utilization rate is only 1%, meaning the first version of the strong interaction force weapon will only weigh 0.22 grams—about the size of a needle."
Kino nodded. "That's fine. You focus on creating the model and the data. I'll provide the materials as best as I can. It will grow larger over time."
Zhou Xi's eyes sparked with passion—an obsession for knowledge and discovery. "I can't even imagine how terrifying it would be if the strong interaction force weapon reached a ton in mass."
Kino smiled faintly at Zhou Xi's enthusiasm. Glancing at the countdown, he said, "I've got 20 minutes left before I leave."
"So eager to go?" Zhou Xi shook his head playfully. "What do you want to do in the last 20 minutes in this world?"
Kino replied, "Come watch the sunrise with me."
...
The cold night faded away, the dawn approached, and everything was bathed in a soft, misty glow.
They rode the elevator to the surface, where the city, adorned with twilight, was visible. The rising sun began to break through the vast night, turning the dark sky into ink dissolving in water, fading away in layered hues. The misty scenery exuded mystery and a unique calm that only the pre-dawn hours could bring, soothing restless hearts and inviting them to linger.
Kino leaned against the railing, the morning breeze brushing through his delicate hair, gently caressing his smooth cheeks, which flushed with a subtle rosy glow. He smiled as always, his amber eyes gazing into the brilliant sky. The rising sun reflected in his pupils, like a backlit gleam.
Zhou Xi, meanwhile, hung lazily over the railing, asking nonchalantly, "Nobo, would you feel lonely traveling to another world alone?"
Kino raised his hand to shield his face, his fingers gently brushing the light as if trying to shatter the sunlight itself. "I don't know what loneliness is, nor can I understand it."
"True," Zhou Xi mused. "You're an empathic-less processor by nature. As for me, I'm just a bionic human created by humanity for science—everything in my mind is pre-programmed: personality, tone of speech, even the emotions. It's all just data, so I don't experience loneliness, nor can I understand what it is." Zhou Xi raised a finger to his lips in mock thought, grinning. "We're both monsters~"
Kino glanced at Zhou Xi, his eyes reflecting the warm sunset glow. "Close your eyes."
"Are you leaving already?" Zhou Xi closed his eyes with exaggerated flair, waving his hand casually. "Goodbye~"
In an instant, Zhou Xi felt a light breeze pass by. Reflexively, she opened her eyes, only to find the railing empty.
The twilight shimmered softly, as though someone had just passed by.