THE GOLDEN DRAGON CONNECTION
As Monica continued to eat her hamburger, savoring the oddly satisfying taste, Alexander’s mind was elsewhere. The data he had gleaned from the cybercop interrogation lingered. The Double Golden Dragons didn’t just send someone like Saul for fun. This wasn’t a random hit—it was a message.
“You know,” Alexander began, breaking the silence, “this isn’t some coincidence. The Dragons sent Saul to either kill me or blackmail me. They wouldn’t waste someone like him otherwise.”
Monica raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-bite. “But why? You don’t even have a company anymore. What message could they want to send you?”
Alexander smirked. “That’s what we’re going to find out. But first…” He gestured at her damaged suit. “You’re not going anywhere with that thing falling apart. Unless you’re planning to take on a whole Yakuza-mafia hybrid without armor?”
A BROKEN TECHNOLOGY
Monica glanced down at her suit. The once-imposing armor was a shadow of itself—cracked plates, exposed circuits, and faintly flickering power lines that gave it the appearance of a dying machine. She sighed, running her fingers over the broken plating.
“I can’t face them like this,” she admitted reluctantly. Her gaze dropped to the floor, where a single golden blood droplet shimmered faintly. It must have come from her Cyber Angel, destroyed by Alexander in their earlier clash.
The thought sent a pang of frustration through her. The Cyber Angel had been her most powerful creation, and Alexander had dispatched it—and her—with humiliating ease.
“Is there… any way to repair it?” she asked hesitantly. “The Angel, I mean. It’s too valuable to leave broken.”
Alexander’s eyes lit up, the faintest trace of a smile tugging at his lips. “Of course,” he said casually. “Bring me the blood.”
THE CYBER ANGEL RETURNS
With a simple wave of his hand, Alexander made the golden droplet float into a small metallic cube resting on his desk. Monica watched, dumbfounded, as the cube sprang to life. Its sides unfolded like petals, revealing a complex array of glowing mechanisms. The room filled with a soft hum as red light pulsed rhythmically, accompanied by a sound akin to celestial chimes.
Before Monica could process what was happening, the Cyber Angel materialized in the center of the room. Its wings unfurled with a flash of golden light, its rings spinning in a dazzling display of energy. The Angel hovered, its multiple glowing eyes blinking in confusion.
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Monica stared, slack-jawed. “What… how is this even possible?”
“Physics, mostly,” Alexander said with a shrug, clearly enjoying her bewilderment.
Ignoring him, Monica grabbed the cube and began inspecting it. She shook it, tapped it, and even used a diagnostic tool from her suit, but nothing made sense.
“How does this cube have power?” she muttered, half to herself. “How can something so small produce something so massive? How does it have all the data?”
Alexander smirked, folding his arms. “Trade secret.”
ANGELIC EXPLANATIONS
The Cyber Angel, now fully reformed, shifted its attention to Monica. Its eyes locked on her damaged suit, and its rings spun faster as its confusion grew.
“What are you doing here?” the Angel asked, its voice a blend of mechanical precision and divine resonance. “Why is your armor damaged? Did you lose the fight? And…” Its rings spun even faster. “Why are you in the target’s lair?”
Monica sighed heavily, feeling the weight of her failures. “Yes, I lost,” she admitted. “He beat me. Completely overwhelmed me. I didn’t have a choice—I had to join him.”
The Angel froze mid-hover, its rings halting for a brief moment. “You lost? How strong is this Alexander Voss?”
“Strong enough,” Monica muttered, glancing at Alexander. “My suit was built to handle Atom Guards and Nano Guards. He tore through it like paper.”
The Angel’s rings spun rapidly for a moment, a clear sign of its processing. It finally let out a soft hum, as if sighing, and refocused its many eyes on Monica. “So… does that mean Alexander Voss is no longer a target?”
“That’s right,” Monica replied, her tone sharp. “I only ordered the hit because he was taking all my clients. I thought he’d be an easy kill.” She sighed again, the frustration evident in her voice. “I underestimated him. Badly.”
The Angel turned to Alexander, its eyes narrowing. “You may have earned my respect,” it said, its voice steady. “But I am no one’s tool. I will not be an object or a servant for anyone.”
Alexander nodded, completely unfazed. “Good. I prefer competent allies to mindless drones.”
ANOTHER TECHNOLOGICAL PUZZLE
Alexander gestured toward his holographic workbench. “Monica, you should repair your armor before it falls apart completely. Use the table. Meanwhile, I’ll catch our angelic friend up on the Double Golden Dragons situation.”
Monica nodded, though she hesitated as she approached the workbench. The technology was unlike anything she had ever seen—solid light interfaces, tools that seemed to materialize out of thin air, and a constant stream of data flowing across the holograms.
“What the hell…” she muttered as she hesitantly touched the surface.
Behind her, Alexander leaned back in his chair, addressing the Angel. “The Double Golden Dragons are a mix of old-school Yakuza and modern cyber-mafia. They’ve got their claws in every industry worth controlling, from biotech to entertainment. Saul was one of their enforcers.”
The Angel, now calmer, nodded slowly. “And they sent him after you because…?”
Alexander smirked. “Because I’m too good at what I do.”
Monica rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smile. Even she had to admit, as infuriating as Alexander could be, his arrogance was well-earned.
As she began working on her suit, Monica muttered under her breath, “One day, I’m going to figure out how this insane technology works.”
“Good luck with that,” Alexander said without turning around, his voice dripping with amusement.......