After three hours of driving, Martin finally arrived home. The road had been long and exhausting, but he was eager to reach his house, the place where he could find comfort after a long day's work. He opened the main door and entered, but as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he noticed something unusual.

He saw a black Cadillac with bulletproof glass parked carefully in the front yard. "Oh, it's Elon..." he muttered to himself. There was no doubt about it; this was his brother's car. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't visited his brother throughout his short holiday, something he usually did on the last day of his annual leave to spend some time with his family. But due to recent events, Martin had completely forgotten.

Slowly, Martin opened the door to the guest room. He found a tall young man with slightly long hair and sharp eyes sitting comfortably on the sofa, holding a bottle of orange juice. The young man slowly turned around as soon as he heard the door, then said in a mocking tone, "You bastard... It seems like you've become too busy for your family lately. Ten days of your annual leave have passed, and you didn't even call me!"

This was Elon, his Elder brother, always known for his provocative tone. Elon continued with a sarcastic smile, "The old man is really upset; he was yelling all night yesterday about how he's going to teach you a harsh lesson once he catches you... hahaha!"

Martin smiled calmly and replied in a composed tone, "Still as wild as ever, Elon. Didn't our father teach you that street language belongs on the street? You should learn to use polite words in the house."

Elon raised his eyebrows defiantly and said, "You bastard, stop acting like a jerk. The old man isn't here to stop me."

Then Elon noticed something odd and looked intently at Martin's fingers, asking with hidden concern in his eyes, "What happened to your fingers? Did someone beat you up?"

Martin sighed and said with a smile, "No need to worry. I helped a friend with some work and got a few minor injuries."

Elon shrugged and said, "Alright, alright... if you insist." Then he added with a sly grin, "By the way, I'm broke at the moment... Show me your wine cabinet. The old man has tightened my expenses, and I have to save the salary I earn with difficulty... This lifestyle is really killing me!" he said, wiping fake tears from his eyes.

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Martin laughed and said, "You're a terrible actor... I don't know how they accepted a clown like you into the federal security." He then tossed a bottle of wine to Elon and sat on the sofa.

Elon caught the bottle and opened it, then said in a grumbling tone, "You already earn $200,000 a year, which is a dream for many people. The old man withheld your semi-annual bonuses to teach you self-control and proper resource management."

Elon smirked and said, "Braggart..." before taking a long sip of the wine.

Time passed quickly, and night fell. Elon, who looked already weary from drinking, stood up, took his Cadillac keys, and left, waving goodbye to Martin with a lazy smile.

Martin stood in the courtyard for a moment, gazing at the sky before he left the room and grabbed his phone. He opened the "Aegis" app, which he had been trying to figure out for a while. Martin tried searching the app, attempting to update it, and even tried performing the same tricks that Novikov did with his fingers, but to no avail. Feeling bored, Martin opened the Google News app again and kept scrolling through the news until his eyes caught a headline that suddenly grabbed his attention.

"Serious Incident at Pinnacles National Park: Four Young African Men Commit Suicide This Evening."

Martin froze for a moment, then opened the news article and began reading the details carefully. CNN reported the deaths of four young men of African descent under mysterious circumstances, suspected to be victims of suicide under the influence of drugs. Local police are still investigating the matter.

Martin sighed in relief after reading the news carefully. "It seems that the incident was indeed deemed a suicide..." he whispered to himself. Then he added, with a puzzled mind, "Aegis... what the hell is it?"

Martin didn't understand anything about how artificial intelligence worked or how it was developed, but from what he observed, Novikov was able to perform several tricks. "Wait..." Martin said, opening his eyes wide as if he had realized something incredible.

"Novikov mentioned something about blood sacrifice... Could it be that this form of life requires the blood of a living person to evolve?"

Martin swallowed nervously before heading to the kitchen and grabbing a sharp knife. He made a small cut on his finger, and drops of blood began to drip onto the desktop. Martin placed his finger on the blood drops, trying to mimic the movement Novikov made. He felt his heartbeat increase, as if time had stopped for a moment.

"Everything depends on luck... Aegis, go ahead and show me what you've got..."

At that moment, Martin heard a familiar voice ringing in his head: "Ding, automated server activated... Please, host, initiate the command..."

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