Chapter 51 Pandora's Box

Last night, Shakya just watched some videos and played games in her room for a while before going to sleep.

Master Jingci sat cross-legged on a cushion in a corner of the living room, in deep meditation.

When Shakya went out to wash up, he was still sitting there motionlessly, as if his soul had left his body.

Seeing this scene, Shakya felt for the first time that he finally looked like a real monk.

Perhaps because of the health meal specially prepared by Master Jingci yesterday, Shakya slept extremely well.

When she woke up this morning, Jingci had already left.

"Ha... Is he gone..."

Unless she had other commitments, Shakya usually woke up a little after 8:00 AM.

Sleep early and rise early, then work out for a bit—was this Shakya's own habit, or was it instilled by the Bureau Chief who forced himself into the role of a father?

Anyway, she didn't particularly dislike this rhythm of life.

Jingci had left quite early, but it seemed he had left a small gift for Shakya.

There was breakfast in a crisper box on the dining table; it was undoubtedly prepared by Jingci.

Normally, when living alone, Shakya would buy milk and bread in advance and keep them in the fridge, heating them up in the morning or perhaps making a fried egg.

Having someone prepare breakfast wasn't bad at all.

Taking a closer look, she noticed a small note pinned beneath the box.

Curious, Shakya walked over, picked it up, and read it.

"I have matters to attend to and must depart first. We shall discuss the training details thoroughly another time. Take care. — Jingci."

Such words were written on the note, followed by smaller text detailing recipes helpful for spiritual cultivation.

"Is he really this considerate..."

Although Shakya felt Master Jingci was a bit casual at times, he was truly dedicated to his disciples.

And rightly so; he was, after all, one of the "Executors." Probably no other Executor lacked self-awareness quite like she did...

After all, as luck would have it, she had lost her memories.

Shakya sighed, opened the crisper box, and found a very unique breakfast inside.

People in Neo-Chunqiu City probably didn't eat breakfast quite like this.

A small portion of rice, a lump of vegetables, a large piece of fish, and a small serving of pickles.

However, in terms of healthfulness, it was simply impeccable.

"If he ever opens a restaurant, I'll definitely become his partner."

Shakya smiled wryly; Master Jingci truly was an interesting person.

She sat down and began to enjoy the healthy breakfast left behind by Jingci.

***

After a few days of moping around, Shakya decided it was time for a proper and formal rest.

It had been a while since she practiced the martial arts taught to her by Old Man Shi—not to mention that her victory in the battle against the "Yaksha King" relied entirely on them.

After finishing the breakfast, Shakya felt her body brimming with energy. Needless to say, Jingci must have used his Ripple technique to treat the food while cooking it.

Once she finished her workout later, she would have to go and apologize to Longsheng.

She could do it via phone call or social media message, but somehow that didn't feel sincere enough.

Having planned out her tasks for the day, Shakya put on her sportswear and stepped out the door.

In Neo-Chunqiu City today, the autumn sunlight was exceptionally bright and pleasant.

However, Director Qin would not be able to enjoy today's sunshine.

He was obliged to attend a United Nations meeting.

In the Director's office, five holographic projections hovered in a circle, displaying the leaders of the world's major powers.

"In the last battle, both the military and civilians suffered quite heavy losses," commented a blonde-haired, broad-faced middle-aged man.

"Indeed, this has also caused a major impact on our country's populace and affected national stability."

So many people having died last time, the incident had caused an uproar in international public opinion.

As the leader of the country where Neo-Chunqiu City was located, dealing with such a matter was undoubtedly a massive headache.

"This is a crisis that all of humanity must unite to face. On a rapidly changing battlefield, all we can do is minimize losses as much as possible."

The Director understood what those leaders were going to get at.

"But the United Nations forces also joined the fight, and achieved almost no results. Director, we are here today to discuss something with you," another bald leader stepped in to smooth things over.

"Please speak."

"Even though the Svarog Bureau possesses a super robot like the Traum, its combat strength is still far too lacking."

The Director nodded.

He understood that relying solely on Shakya indeed left certain blind spots.

Fighting entirely on one's own always had its limits.

For this reason, shortly after discovering the Traum, the Svarog Bureau had already begun researching and analyzing the machine.

"Therefore, the Permanent Members of the United Nations have unanimously decided to pass a motion to develop humanoid mobile weapons."

The UN's intention was crystal clear: they urgently needed to enhance the military's combat capabilities, as relying solely on the Svarog Bureau was stretched far too thin at times.

Of course, the Director had all along been in contact with the international community, seeking cooperation and assistance; this was the very outcome he had hoped to achieve.

"In my humble opinion, it might be better to develope conventional vehicles equipped with energy weapons..."

The Director was well aware of the mainstream technological level in robotics today. Suddenly talking about developing humanoid mobile weapons... could it be that a superpower had already made some kind of breakthrough?

"Never mind that. What we need is coordinated combat involving multiple humanoid weapons. We've seen the results of relying on your robot for everything."

Since the President of the superpower had put it that way, the Director said no more.

"I understand... We have also signed a technology-sharing agreement."

"Our expert group will also arrive in Neo-Chunqiu City next week."

Of course, the Director welcomed the current human military strengthening its combat power, but prior to that, he had a lingering concern.

That was the fact that contemporary humanity was filled with plotting and endless internal strife. If the technology of the super-ancient civilization were handed over to them before they were truly united, it would likely backfire.

This was not only the Director's worry; his friends, including Master Jingci, felt the exact same way.

This was indeed a difficult decision.

On one hand, it was giving humanity a sword to fight against its fate; on the other hand, humanity was not yet mature enough to wield such power properly.

Although the Flashpoint Project data passed down from Director Qin's ancestors did not explicitly record the specific conditions of the super-ancient civilization that formulated the plan, at least one thing was certain.

A civilization filled with mutual slaughter, scheming, and disunity could never have formulated a plan spanning hundreds of thousands of years to unite countless people.

Now that the United Nations had proactively put forward this request, they must have considered it thoroughly.

In that case, there was no harm in revealing a portion of it to the UN expert group.

Even the current analysis of the Traum had made qualitative progress compared to before, thanks to Shakya's arrival.

As for the UN expert group, they could at least be provided with the data from when Ziyuan served as the pilot.

"Since that is the case, the reception will be left to us. But I have one prerequisite..."

"Please go ahead."

The leaders had actually guessed eight-tenths of it in their hearts.

The prerequisite proposed by the Director was that this technology should be used solely to deal with the Kindred and be poured into the battle for the continuation of civilization.

At least for now, the leaders nodded in recognition.

"Well, because your Svarog Bureau will undoubtedly grow increasingly important in the battles to protect human civilization, this power is humanity's hope. I admit that past presidents indeed neglected Director Qin's warnings, but moving forward, we hope to cooperate closely. Our country will support this project with massive funding, so please rest assured."

So said a middle-aged female leader, who seemed to be a sensible person.

The humanoid mobile weapon project was decided to be developed within the United States—the world's sole superpower—while the other permanent members would contribute talent, funding, and various supporting services.

It seemed the Director's side would also be quite busy from now on.

As the Director of Svarog, he would likely be traveling to the United States frequently in the near future.

That was fine too. Raising the military strength of modern humanity within a relatively safe scope would also alleviate some of Shakya's burden.