Volume 4 Chapter 3 Lesson 3: Loathing, other than liking Translator: LilsXD, Wryn Proofreader: Arc, Wryn Dark Sun halted at the door to the headmaster’s office. He was no longer dressed as a well-behaved and obedient student. He had changed into red, tight-fitting clothing and jeans. Naturally, he was also wearing a visor to cover his face. He politely knocked on the door. Immediately, an abnormally friendly voice called out, “Is that Dark Sun? Come in quickly! Hurry now!” Dark Sun entered as bidden. The moment he stepped inside, he immediately went on high alert. The headmaster was not the only one in his office. There were at least 20 more people inside. Aside from the person sitting in front of the princ.i.p.al with his back to Dark Sun, the rest were standing in two rows. The four people standing closest to that person were wearing very formal black suits. The rest were wearing uniforms. Whether it was for battle or exercise, the uniforms looked very easy to move around in. They also carried rifles with formidable firepower on their backs while two pistols hung at their waists. Dark Sun guessed that they would definitely have knives and other weapons hidden away, but he was unsure whether they were concealed inside their jackets, strapped to their ankles or in the pockets on their thighs. Perhaps they were hidden in all those places. In other words, these people caused Dark Sun to go onto high alert. All of them were fighters, and they were fully equipped. If they all became enemies for Dark Sun, even he would have a hard time. Dark Sun stayed put at the entrance. “Dark Sun! Quickly, come inside! This kid, why are you so scared of strangers?” Headmaster Antonias enthusiastically waved his hand for him to come in. Seeing that he would not budge, he hurriedly chided him in a soft voice for being afraid of strangers, in case his actions offended the important guest. Dark Sun refused to move. He could not allow himself to step into a place he regarded as dangerous. He did not care whether it was polite or not. Antonias’ smile froze in place. He emphasised, “Dark Sun, this is the man that I mentioned to you before. He is the one who possesses the most beautiful voice in the world, Mr. Lance! Have you forgotten? Come over, quickly!” Dark Sun silently stood at the entrance. He was unwilling to take another step. Antonias’ complexion became blacker than the bottom of a pot. *Clap, clap, clap!* Lance stood up and turned around. He wore an ornately styled white suit. Around his neck was a silvery white scarf, and his hair cascaded down past his waist. His skin was as fair as his clothes. If he were to stand under a light, his whole being would become luminous. He cast a critical eye over Dark Sun, scrutinizing him from top to bottom for a long moment. After he had seen enough, he smiled. In a tone that bordered on breaking out in song, he said, “As expected of someone I’ve had my eyes on. Hair the colour of the moon, an extremely slender physique and that uncompromising arrogance to further accentuate your detached poise. Ah! Beauty that is unparalleled!” Antonias’ face twitched. Although listening to that made his whole body break out in gooseb.u.mps, as long as the VIP was happy, everything was good! As long as he’s happy! Dark Sun critically observed Lance as well. His clothes were rather complicated. It was not suitable for battle and had no areas to hide weapons. The condition of his skin was very good. There were no signs to show that he had experienced strict battle training. After an X-ray examination of him, he found that there was no metal on Lance’s body. He was not a modified human. In conclusion, this person did not pose any threat. As if he was trying to show that he was a friendly being, Lance took the initiative and walked towards Dark Sun with a smile. He lightly and gently sang as he said, “Don’t be afraid! There’s nothing scary about me! Although my reputation can be a bit intimidating, look! I, as a person, am not scary at all. I’m not scary at all, am I?” Antonias’ face twitched again. Does this guy have to talk as if he is singing? It made gooseb.u.mps that had not appeared for over ten years, erupt on his ageing skin. “How sad. This child is so beautiful yet he is only a subordinate. Ah! Such a pity, such a waste.” After Lance finished his high-pitched speech, he changed to dulcet tones, “Child, do not worry. Even if there is no one to love and appreciate you, you still have me, Lance!” Once the microchip discerned that Lance was not a threat, Dark Sun did not pay any attention to Lance. However, because of these words, Dark Sun suddenly changed his focus back to him. Lance saw that Dark Sun was paying attention to him and felt especially good about it. His expression was especially gentle. However, Dark Sun then took his eyes off of Lance and looked at Headmaster Antonias. He questioned in a business-like voice, “Is the protective service beginning today?” Before Antonias could even respond, Lance interrupted. “Such a pitiful child. Are missions the only thing you care about? Are you not able to see the beauty of this world?” Lance shook his head and sighed. Although he was referring to the world, his hand was placed on his chest, as if implying that he represented the world. Dark Sun did not have any intention of answering Lance. He kept looking at the headmaster, reminding him that he needed to respond to his question, “Antonias.” Shouldn’t you at least call me Headmaster? Antonias muttered in his heart as he answered, “No. Mr. Lance only came to handle some procedures beforehand. Tomorrow will be the official start date. I wanted you to meet Mr. Lance for a bit today.” “I have met him.” After Dark Sun finished speaking, he turned around and left. He did not show any respect to those in the room. Antonias awkwardly said, “Mr. Lance…..” “It’s fine.” Lance showed a compa.s.sionate smile sighing, “I understand. This child is filled with pride and lacks the presence of love in his life. But it doesn’t matter because there is music! Beautiful music will definitely change him. In this one month, my music will definitely fill his heart with love.” Antonias arranged his facial muscles back into a smile as he said, “Definitely!” “Well then, I will see you again three days from now, Headmaster Antonias.” After Lance left, Antonias slumped onto the headmaster’s seat. He covered his face and sighed dejectedly. “This is bad. Although on the surface, Dark Sun seems to ignore everyone, he never particularly hates any one person. So why is it that this time he seems to particularly hate this guy? He doesn’t even want to look at him….. How is he going to carry out this mission? He won’t leave Lance to die on purpose, right?” At this point, he murmured quietly, “But that guy is really detestable. Even though he seems to try and help others, his words lean towards being more hurtful and stinging…. This won’t do. I need Elian to pretend to be Dark Sun’s good friend and frequently visit Dark Sun to have a ‘chat’. Ah! Ah! I should make him pretend to be Dark Sun’s zealous fan that refuses to be more than half a metre away from Dark Sun! Only then will I be able to rest a.s.sured!” Antonias immediately pressed the broadcast b.u.t.ton and called for Elian to come. ********************
“Dark Sun’s zealous fan?” Elian was dumbfounded. For his entire life, he had never been fanatical about any particular person or thing, how could he possibly act well as a zealous fan? He tactfully suggested to the headmaster, “How about we let Eloise do this?” “No, we definitely cannot allow Eloise to take this job. She is a genuine Dark Sun fanatic.” The headmaster said in an annoyed tone, “If Lance were to anger Dark Sun, before Dark Sun has even moved, Eloise might’ve already hammered Lance to death.” Anger Dark Sun? Isn’t this the very mission the Solaris Emperor delegated to them? If he really were to infuriate Dark Sun, the Solaris Emperor might even be grateful to Lance. Elian smiled bitterly as he shook his head. “It is impossible, headmaster. Dark Sun will be impartial to it. It is impossible for him to get angry.” “Nonsense!” Antonias immediately refuted his words, “He hates Lance.” Elian was shaken. He doubtingly asked, “Dark Sun hates Lance? How is that possible?” “How is it not possible? He refused to even give Lance a second glance.” Elian was doubtful. Could it be that Dr. Avery’s hypothesis is correct? That Dark Sun is not completely emotionless at the moment, but is possibly… If so, I cannot hang around Dark Sun and ruin this opportunity. Elian quickly said, “Headmaster, it would be better to have Eli shadow them discretely while keeping them in range. His stealth ability is very strong; he won’t be discovered by Lance. In addition, I will be following them closely, so if a situation arises, Eli can instantly contact Eloise and me.” Antonias furrowed his eyebrows. Elian persuaded him further, “If we did this, we could be a.s.sured that Lance wouldn’t forcefully drive me away, making us unable to protect him or even worse, anger him.” Antonias hesitated, thinking hard. According to Lance’s strange personality and powerful status, he really might call his bodyguards stationed outside the school to drive Elian away. “Okay, follow them as if you were their shadow,” Antonias emphasised. “Yes sir.” Elian solemnly nodded his head. Although he really hoped that Lance could anger Dark Sun, if Dark Sun became extremely mad and clawed Lance to death, that would be bad. ********************
After Dark Sun left the Headmaster’s Office, he changed back into his school uniform and returned to his cla.s.sroom for his lessons. As usual, Ezart was lying on his table fast asleep right from the beginning. Even in the afternoon, he only woke up to have two bites of his bread, drink a big gulp of water before laying back down to continue sleeping. He did not even turn to look at Dark Sun once throughout the day. Dark Sun also did not bother him. He went to the cafeteria to eat by himself. Today, the trio that usually came to hara.s.s him was nowhere in sight. Afterwards, besides Xiao Ai, no one said a word to Dark Sun. While the lessons were in progress, he obediently took down notes and when the teacher was dodging stray bullets, he played with Xiao Ai. Why is the bell signalling the end of cla.s.s still not ringing? The teacher wiped his sweaty brow whilst evading stray bullets. Why hasn’t cla.s.s ended yet? Ezart lay down on the desk but could no longer sleep despite his best efforts. No matter how good he was at it, he was unable to sleep from 8AM to 5PM! He could not act even if his life depended on it. For him to act like he loathed Dar….. He would rather continue feigning sleep! *Dong, dong, dong, dong!* The teacher grabbed his briefcase and emerged from under the table. He flew out of the cla.s.sroom with a great shout, “Cla.s.s dismissed!” While Ezart was still deciding whether he should continue with his pretence of sleeping or get up to say that he was too busy to walk home together, he heard movement from the table beside him. He raised his arm slightly and peeked through the gap, only to see Dar leaving with his backpack. Ezart was a bit startled as he lifted his head up and watched Dark Sun’s silhouette leave the cla.s.sroom. This guy, he actually didn’t even say a word to me? Even if it were Dark Sun, he should have followed the code of conduct, reminding his friend that cla.s.s had ended and asking if he wanted to leave together. “Brat, you dare to be angry with me?” ********************
Dark Sun went straight home. Just as he was about to use the key to open the door, the door was flung open. He saw a happily-smiling, cute face of a boy that would make any person want to dote on him. “You’re back, Dark Sun.” DSII beamed. “Little Dar has prepared dinner, it’s really good! Come over and eat!” “DSII.” “Yes?” The boy tilted his head while looking at him. He revealed a rather puzzled expression. “You are DSII, not little Dar,” Dark Sun answered, expressionless. Little Dar shook his head strongly. He happily explained, “Gege said that from now on I’ll be called little Dar, not DSII. Dark Sun, you must remember that, ok? Don’t get it wrong.” “He is your master, not your gege.” DSII smiled as he said, “Gege likes little Dar calling him gege. Thus, little Dar automatically chose to refer to him as gege.” “DSII, revert back to the correct form of address.” DSII paused for a second before he replied cheerfully, “Dark Sun, you don’t have the right to give orders to little Dar. Only gege and Daddy Avery have the authority to give orders to little Dar.” This time, Dark Sun was stunned for a few seconds. Then, he stiffly said, “DSII, revert back to the correct form of address or I will judge that you have malfunctioned. For the safety of the master, I will immediately destroy you.” DSII’s eyes widened. He was silent for ten seconds before he revealed an expression with just the right amount of bewilderment and replied, “Brief self-examination completed. The change in the form of address completed personally by the master. Accepting little Dar as a form of address, correct. While the emotional switch is turned on, automatically choosing gege as the master’s new form of address, correct. All functions are working normally. Dark Sun, little Dar is not damaged!” “You’re damaged. Suggestion: Destroy immediately.” As the words left his mouth, Dark Sun extended his sharp nails as his hand became akin to a sharp blade. He aimed in the direction of DSII’s heart. However, DSII was not a normal person either. However you looked at it, he was Dark Sun’s copy. Although Dark Sun’s move was sudden, it was not completely beyond DSII’s ability to respond in time. He immediately evaded this attack and simultaneously retreated a few steps to create distance between them. He warned, “Under intentional hostile attack. Dark Sun, halt your attacks. Otherwise, I will retaliate.” Dark Sun sent another claw his way. DSII dodged and said, “Dark Sun, deliberately attacked, ignoring warnings. Conclusion: Dark Sun is damaged. Suggestion: Destroy immediately.” After he finished speaking, he also extended his sharp claws and slashed at Dark Sun, his speed and accuracy on par. They utilised their superior speeds and engaged in battle. Their body shapes and appearances were exactly the same. They both used the same sharp claws as weapons. They also had the same energised hair strands and were even wearing their uniforms. In addition, Dark Sun’s backpack had fallen to the ground a while ago, causing it to be impossible to discern who was who. Their strength were similarly frightening and they both did not want to cause a disturbance to others. Thus, their battle remained indoors. The living room and entrance hall were getting destroyed beyond recognition Luckily, the sound proofing system of the house was beyond average. Although the two of them were creating noise equivalent to the demolition of a house, not many people noticed. Although it did not alarm any regular people, as it was the Solaris Emperor’s quarters, there were numerous bodyguards hidden around the area who had noticed the commotion the moment the battle started. They immediately reported this to their superiors. However, they were unable to do anything else. From the beginning, they had confirmed that amongst the two that were battling, one of them was the target that the Solaris Emperor ordered them to protect with their lives. However, they were utterly unable to determine which was the one they had to protect among the two identical fighters. They could only a.s.sume that they both were and thus, could not fire at either. In addition, going forward to stop the fight was also impossible. The duo’s superior skills rendered these specially trained bodyguards speechless. They understood that if they were to enter the flurry, it would mean forfeiting their lives. As a last resort, just as they decided to throw tear gas, orders arrived from their superiors. Avery’s voice resounded from the phone, “Don’t throw tear gas. It doesn’t work on them. It will only cause them to perceive you as an enemy. Basically, don’t make any moves. Wait for the Solaris Emperor and protect him as he closes in on the two of them.” Avery instructed the bodyguards as he ascended the stairs from his underground laboratory. Before he could grasp the situation at hand, he saw a rock the size of a human torso flying towards him. Just as a scream left his mouth, he was flattened to the ground by someone, avoiding a ghastly death by rock. After recovering from a bout of dizziness, Avery stood up and a.s.sessed the current situation. By then, the person who had pushed him onto the ground had rejoined the battle. Was it Dark Sun? Or was it DSII? Avery could not tell. But he knew that the most important thing right now was to stop the two cyborgs from destroying the house. He yelled, “Stop! Dark Sun, DSII! Stop right now!” The two of them replied in the same format. “Dark Sun has lost control. There is a possibility of endangering the master. The level of danger exceeds the level of Avery’s authority. Unable to cease battle.” “DSII has lost control. There is a possibility of endangering the master. The level of danger exceeds the level of Avery’s authority. Unable to cease battle.” Avery was in a daze. Just who has lost control? Then, he realised that the most important thing at hand was not who had lost control, but the fact that the rocks and furniture flying around could crush him to death. He quickly ran to the kitchen for cover, discretely peeking out from behind the wall. “DSII’s battle capabilities are practically on par with Dark Sun!” Avery did not forget to record the battle despite the chaos. He nodded, “Be it the body or the microchip, they are exactly the same. Apart from the fact that DSII is a robot and has the disadvantage of easily crashing when faced with dilemmas, his battle capabilities are definitely not worse than Dark Sun’s.” After muttering to himself, he suddenly thought of something. DSII had attacked Dark Sun. Avery eyes grew wide. Didn’t the Solaris Emperor give an order that he was not allowed to hurt Dark Sun under any circ.u.mstances? However, DSII had determined that Dark Sun was damaged and was capable of endangering the Solaris Emperor and hence had to be destroyed. Logically, it should crash due to the conflict between the orders of the Solaris Emperor to never attack Dark Sun, and the programmed response to destroy Dark Sun as he posed a threat to the Solaris Emperor. Why is it attacking Dark Sun like this? Theodore recalled the process of creating DSII... After discovering the high chances of failure in the creation of Dark Sun, his former employer, the Solaris Emperor’s father, was determined to create a backup version of Dark Sun via cloning techniques. “We can’t place all our hope on that useless son,” Father said. Theodore secretly protested on Dar’s behalf. Almost all the kids were dead, but this one seemed to have the greatest potential for success. With unwavering determination that surpa.s.sed those of adults, coupled with a robust body, he would be a martial arts elite with just regular training, let alone modifications. Regardless, Dar was far removed from the word “useless”. But the pitifully low ranking doctor had no right to retort. He could only say awkwardly, “I can only create a crude back-up product. I’ll have no time to perform refinements.” “I will find someone else to refine it.” Theodore could only concede. After DSII was created, he made some major adjustments initially. However, after repeated system crashes in situations with conflicting orders, he still could not find a solution to the problem. It was then Dark Sun’s situation became critical and he did not have any time for DSII. His employer then transferred it to another laboratory. Theodore never gave DSII a second thought thereafter, until several days ago, when Dark Sun’s situation was at its worst. There was no way Theodore would attempt a fix via trial and error on Dark Sun, even under the pain of death. If there was even a little mishap with Dark Sun, he would definitely be tortured to death by the Solaris Emperor. But if he did not conduct test runs, how would be able to change Dark Sun back to Dar? Under the dual pressure of the Solaris Emperor’s subzero glares and his worry about Dar, Theodore finally recalled that there was such a thing as DSII. The moment he brought it up, the Solaris Emperor immediately found the laboratory DSII had gone to among his gazillion secret laboratories, arms factories and underworld organisations. Theodore had told the Solaris Emperor, “The people from that lab are unable to give orders to Dark Sun.” The Solaris Emperor replied with a nonchalant, “Is that so?” Theodore did not dare to speak any further. He deduced that the personnel from that laboratory did not come to a good end. “Perhaps someone from that lab has found a way to prevent DSII from crashing?” Theodore became vexed. If he had realised it earlier, he would have strongly suggested to the Solaris Emperor that the person who had been in charge of DSII could help him devise a way to recover Dark Sun. ********************
“Theodore! What do I do? What do we do?” The s.p.a.ced out Theodore recovered from his daze. When his neck was close to its breaking point, there was no way he could stay unfocused even if he wanted to. Devon was wringing his neck with all his might. He choked out, “You are the ultimate master. Your order is the most effective. At least DSII will definitely stop! Now let me go...” Devon dashed out at those words, his bodyguard following suit, using his body as a human shield. Devon bellowed, “Stop! I order the both of you to stop! Stop!” One of the Dars ceased attacking instantly and retreated a few steps. But the other Dar flung a punch at the former, sending it flying into the wall, where it collapsed. “Dar!” The heartbroken Devon rushed forward. He used himself to shield the Dar lying on the ground as he helped him up. The injured Dar raised his head and smiled at Devon, “Gege, you’re back!” Seeing this smile, Devon felt a shock. He suddenly recalled that the real Dar no longer smiled. This, this is not Dar, it’s DSII... Devon turned around to see Dark Sun staring at him expressionlessly. However, the moment he turned away, Dark Sun started towards the second floor. “Stop there!” Devon hastily shouted. Dark Sun’s footsteps faltered but he continued climbing up the stairs to the second floor. Devon was shocked. Theodore exclaimed, “He, he’s not obeying orders!” Devon remained stupefied. He gazed vacantly at Theodore who was explaining excitedly, “Don’t you get it? Because you called DSII “Dar” and then went to help him up, Dar is angry. He’s angry! But Dark Sun is meant to be emotionless, incapable of feeling anger and incapable of disregarding your orders.” Devon suddenly understood Theodore, and he hastily asked, “He can get angry, so he, he is Dar?” Theodore nodded at Devon who was in disbelief. He added, “He attacked DSII, showing that he disobeyed your order to stop attacking, then he disobeyed your order to stop moving, ignored you and went straight upstairs. He is obviously angry! Dark Sun can’t get angry, how can a machine get angry? The most it can do is crash. So he is definitely Dar, not Dark Sun.” Devon trembled, “But, but... didn’t Dar refuse to turn on the switch for emotions?” “I think, from the moment you turned it on, he hasn’t been able to completely turn it off!” Theodore shrugged as he explained, “Dar can hide behind Dark Sun, letting Dark Sun control his body, but he is unable to remain completely unaware of sights and sounds. The moment he became angry, he instantly reclaimed control of his body and...” Bang! Theodore and Devon looked towards the second floor. That was the door to Dar’s room slamming shut. “He is angry.” Devon could clearly discern it now. He was a mess of discordant feelings. On the one hand he was glad that Dar could still be infuriated, yet on the other, he was a little heartbroken that Dar was furious. He suddenly swivelled around and said to his bodyguard, “What are you looking at? Hurry up and clean up this mess, and make sure that this debacle was not overheard by others. Do you still need me to personally instruct you on these matters?” The houseful of bodyguards immediately commenced cleaning up the aftermath. Professionals were contacted, debris was cleared and dismembered furniture removed. “I have to tell Dar the truth.” Devon decided not to let Dar stay angry for too long after some consideration. “No, you can’t,” Theodore yelled. Devon froze on the spot. He turned around, a rigid expression on his face as he stared at Theodore. If the latter did not provide a satisfactory explanation, he was going to die. Theodore gushed, “Even though Dar did not disappear, if we tell him that we were just acting this way to agitate him, he might never emerge from Dark Sun’s shadow.” Devon steeled his heart as he gazed at the door to Dar’s room. He walked back down the stairs, asking the good doctor, “Exactly how long do we need to let him stew in his anger?” “How would i know... only a while!” Theodore changed his sentence halfway through his grumbling as he noticed the Solaris Emperor’s intention to order the bodyguards to torture him. “Dar has become so furious he attacked DSII today, so he should recover in a few days!” I think... Theodore added silently. Still a few more days? Devon’s heart sank but he nodded, still eyeing Dar’s door. Only a few more days... Seeing his grief stricken face like that of a mourner of the recently deceased, Theodore reminded softly, “If you’re worried, you can ask your bodyguard to ask him to come down for dinner.” Devon immediately indicated to the bodyguard at his side to prepare dinner in the pristine kitchen. Dinner was ready soon after. Under the “infuriate Dar” plan, the duo deliberately seated DSII with them first, took several mouthfuls from the dishes before allowing the bodyguard to get Dar down for dinner. The knocks on the door went unanswered despite several attempts. The bodyguard returned to the kitchen, “Sir, there was no answer.” Devon frowned as he instructed, “Enter his room.” Devon sat uneasily as he waited with great difficulty for the return of the bodyguard, only to hear, “Young master is not in his room. The window was open. Young master has left via the window.” His surprise rendered him expressionless. Theodore’s jaw hung open. Dar is evolving too quickly! Not only did he learn to fight, get angry, he even ran away from home... Devon looked inscrutably at Theodore, sending chills down his spine. He grimaced and stammered, “It’s still a progression. Ma... machines don’t run away from home. So it means that Dar didn’t disappear!” Devon took a few deep breaths and ground out, “Eat. Don’t search for Dar. He, he will come back eventually.” He looked uncertainly towards Theodore who nodded his head vigorously in a.s.surance. “Good.” However, despite his words, Devon could not stomach dinner. He muttered repeatedly, “Very well, I won’t search for Dar. Don’t search for him. It’s fine to let him be angry for a while longer. In a few days, Dar will smile again...” Theodore bowed his head as he gobbled down his food, hoping that he could escape back to the safety of his laboratory as soon as he finished his meal. He did not want to be around when the Solaris Emperor went berserk. He certainly could not stomach the latter’s penchant for violence. ********************
After heading upstairs to his room, Dark Sun sat at his desk modifying his guns. The gun he was currently modifying was small, barely the size of a palm. It was also vintage. He gingerly disa.s.sembled its parts, cleaned them, added lubricant and replaced the damaged pieces, and so on. He stopped his machinations within moments, stating flatly, “Abnormal physical status. Initiate self diagnosis.” Blood pressure elevated, tachycardic and tachypnoeic... consistent with physiological changes a.s.sociated with anger. Getting angry contravenes the master’s order: To be happy. Find a method for happiness. Dark Sun gave an order to the microchip in his brain. Seconds later, Dark Sun opened his backpack hanging on the side of his chair, fished out his love simulation console and credit card, then jumped out the window. He walked briskly along the streets still in his school uniform. Normally, he would have been accosted by thugs or robbed. Today, however, his lifeless face scared everyone away, regardless of intent. Dark Sun walked along the route to school and reached his destination within five minutes. He raised his love simulation console as he walked into the shop, saying, “I want the latest upgrade.” The attendant instantly recognised this preeminent client who possessed the highest level credit card of the Solaris Bank. Today however, he did not bend down and promptly fish out the newest upgrade. The attendant grimaced, “Eh... My apologies. The latest upgrade is out of stock! It will arrive in approximately one week.” Dark Sun remained silent. The attendant hurriedly explained, “The upgrade this time is an extremely limited edition. It has the function of producing children. You can play the love simulation and the life simulation simultaneously, it’s like a two in one console. That’s why it’s so popular. You were just one step late. I had two available until lunch time. After that, a client bought both of them. The entire country is out of stock at the moment. I can make an expedited order for you, but it will take at least two days. I will do my best to get one for you.” Dark Sun remained silent, causing the attendant’s heart rate to skyrocket. Although he knew that he must not neglect this client he was only an attendant of a small store. With his limited capabilities, it was even doubtful if he could get his hands on this ultra limited edition within the next few days. What else could he do? It seemed as if the client was in a bad mood today. His expression was so frigid it resembled a frozen fish. Wasn’t he always smiling in the past? Unless he’s angry because he can’t get the new upgrade? The attendant swore to himself, no matter how limited future upgrades were, he would definitely save one for this client next time. “I want to look at models,” Dark Sun finally said. The microchip found a solution. Dar was interested in models previously, so perhaps if he took a look, he would be happy! The attendant heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Certainly. The models are all displayed on the left wall. This catalogue has many more models that are kept in storage. They are too numerous to display. If you wish, I can search it for you right now.” The attendant whipped out a voluminous tome and Dark Sun began flipping the pages, uninterested in those displayed on the wall. Dark Sun flicked through the catalogue rapidly, the pages fluttering by. The attendant’s smile twitched. Almost at the end of the tome, Dark Sun suddenly paused at a page, staring hard at an image. It was an image of a man with silver hair dressed in a tight fitting red top and jeans, wearing a visor, wings of copper sprouting from his back as he yielded a ma.s.sive scythe with a enormous claw holding up the blade. The attendant started explaining when he saw the object of his fixation. “Oooh, this was brought in by a client whom you almost had a fight with in the store. He drew the design himself and then custom made a model. After that, a lot of other clients also liked this picture. We couldn’t say no to their pleas, so we secretly made those for them! If you want it...” So it was Shain Baylian. “I don’t want it,” Dark Sun interrupted decisively and continued flicking through the rest of the pages. The attendant was stunned. What does this client really want? Dark Sun remained silent after going through the catalogue. Although his heart rate was gradually approximating his baseline, and his blood pressure was no longer that high, his internal processes still did not produce any happy effects. Exactly what does Dar need to be happy? What would make Dar happy? What does he want? I want... Dark Sun raised his head and questioned, “Can I customise a model?” “Of course.” The attendant nodded as he elaborated, “We have the best sculptors. As long as they have an image, regardless of whether it is a specific plan or an image of a real person, we can create it for you.” Dark Sun nodded. He fished out a photo from the pocket of his school uniform. “This.” The attendant’s eyeb.a.l.l.s almost fell out of their sockets. It was a photo of the Solaris Emperor. In truth, it was nothing unusual. Mult.i.tudes of photos of the Solaris Emperor circulated the market. There were even people who specifically collected photos of the Solaris Emperor. What was shocking was that the Solaris Emperor was smiling in this one... It was a well known fact that the Solaris Emperor was a cold hearted person. Even though pictures of him with a smile on his face existed, they were sneers or polite smiles. There was definitely no picture like this: a warm and brilliant smile. He could guarantee that many collectors would be very interested in this photo. “Can you make a model of this?” “Certainly.” The attendant beamed, “What dimensions do you have in mind?” Dark Sun raised his thumb, “This big. with an outer sh.e.l.l attached to a necklace. The sh.e.l.l must have a mechanism that allows it to be opened for viewing the model.” The attendant scribbled down his specifications and enquired in greater detail, “Do you have a specific style in mind for the outer sh.e.l.l and opening mechanism?” Dark Sun paused, “The outer sh.e.l.l to be made with gold in a vintage style. The opening mechanism with a ruby.” “A ruby?” The attendant’s voice shot up by an octave. A ruby for a b.u.t.ton? How big a ruby? Three carats? Five carats? The attendant thought about that Solaris credit card and had no further doubts. His final question was, “Do you have an upper limit on the budget?” “No.” Indeed. *********** Eclipse Hunter v04c03 END ************
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