The few days in Monaco became a vacation that truly belonged only to Artoria and Minerva.
The Whiplash incident was like a stone thrown into water; after creating a few ripples amidst the media clamor and police investigation, it was quickly swallowed by the inherent luxury, hedonism, and speed of Monte Carlo. Artoria and Minerva completely removed themselves from this turmoil, immersing themselves in the leisurely time that belonged only to each other.
On the private beach in the early morning, the fine sand was slightly cool. Artoria walked barefoot along the edge of the surf, bent down to pick up a milky white spiral shell, and handed it to Minerva: "Look, doesn't it look like a little ear?" Minerva took it, her optical sensor carefully scanning the texture, her fingertips lightly touching the inner wall, and then she put it away solemnly: "Thank you, Artoria. I will keep it safe."
When the sun became warm, they changed into swimsuits and went to the beach volleyball court. Artoria wore a simple black two-piece, while Minerva wore a light blue one-piece, her silver hair loose and dazzling in the sunlight. The rented colorful volleyball flew lightly between the two.
"Hey! Watch the ball!" Artoria jumped up to spike, her movements amateurish, and the ball flew toward a strange angle limply. Minerva calculated the optimal path instantly, but forcibly suppressed her instinct for high-speed movement, merely taking a quick step sideways and leaping lightly, her wrists steadily cushioning the ball—the ball drew a perfect arc and landed exactly in the most comfortable spot in front of Artoria.
"Nice!" Artoria laughed and came again, but didn't pay attention to her footing, her foot slipped on the soft sand, and she fell to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Minerva had appeared beside her, crouching down and reaching out to help her up, her voice tinged with a trace of almost imperceptible tension: "Artoria, are you injured? Slight impact detected, but no skeletal or muscular damage."
"I'm fine, really, the sand is soft." Artoria took her hand and stood up, patting the sand off her body, smiling with her eyes curved, "Again!"
Under the sun, two figures ran and jumped on the beach. Artoria gradually let go, shouting and calling out, her movements unstandardized but full of vitality. Minerva remained as stable as a precision instrument, but every cushion and save accurately controlled the force and angle, allowing Artoria to feel the joy of the sport without it being too difficult to receive. Her gaze always followed the yellow figure, recording every laugh, every jump, and every strand of hair flying against her forehead due to sweat.
Once, Artoria tried hard to save the ball, and it flew high out of bounds. Just as Minerva was about to step over to catch it, a sturdy figure suddenly interjected from the side, leaping into the air and spiking the ball back with a quite professional posture, the ball landing precisely in front of Artoria.
"Nice shot!" It was a man who looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a fit physique, skin tanned to a healthy wheat color, wearing fashionable surfing shorts, revealing a mouthful of white teeth as he smiled at Artoria, "Need a sparring partner? Your way of playing looks... quite interesting." His gaze lingered on Artoria with undisguised appreciation.
Minerva's movements paused instantly, shifting from a posture of preparing to receive the ball to standing still. She turned to the man, her optical sensor calmly sweeping over him, but Artoria could feel the surrounding air seem to stagnate for a moment—not murderous intent, but a more restrained sense of alienation similar to territorial awareness.
"Thanks, no need." Artoria smiled politely at the man, bent down to pick up the volleyball, "We're just playing for fun."
"Don't be like that, I'm pretty good at playing. Seeing as there are only two of you, it's more fun with more people." The man walked a few steps closer, smiling brightly, his gaze still lingering on Artoria's face, "My name is Mark, here on vacation from Switzerland. Want to be friends?"
Minerva took a half-step forward, unobtrusively blocking the space between Artoria and Mark. Her posture remained relaxed, but that presence made Mark's attention involuntarily shift to her. Minerva didn't speak, just slightly lifted her chin, her optical sensor behind the tea-colored lenses "watching" him faintly.
Mark felt a bit uncomfortable being looked at by this cold gaze, but he wasn't giving up, his gaze trying to bypass Minerva to look at Artoria: "And this is...?"
"My most important family." Artoria's voice was clear and calm. She stepped out from behind Minerva, naturally took Minerva's arm, and nodded to Mark, "We want to play by ourselves, thank you for your kindness. Have a happy vacation."
Her actions and words were unambiguous. Mark was stunned for a moment, looked at the intimate posture of Artoria holding Minerva's arm, and then looked at Minerva's face, which seemed inorganic yet carried invisible pressure, and finally realized something, his smile becoming a bit awkward: "Ah... oh, okay, sorry for bothering you. You guys play, you guys play." He sheepishly touched his nose, turned around, and walked away quickly.
After the man was far away, Artoria let go of Minerva's arm and turned to her, finding that Minerva was still maintaining that slightly raised head posture, her optical sensor seemingly still "staring" in the direction Mark had left.
"Minerva?" Artoria gently touched her arm.
Minerva turned her head, her optical sensor focusing on Artoria's face, the blue light behind the lenses stable, but Artoria always felt that the light was a little "colder" than usual.
"He has left." Minerva stated, her voice steady and waveless, "According to behavioral pattern analysis, his approach intention had an 82% probability of containing non-purely social purposes. It is recommended to keep a distance from him in subsequent activities."
Artoria couldn't help but laugh, reaching out to pinch Minerva's somewhat tense arm muscle: "Got it. See, didn't I refuse him immediately? And I said it, you are my most important family." She leaned closer, lowering her voice, with a coaxing tone, "With you by my side, how could I see anyone else?"
Minerva's optical sensor flickered slightly, and after two seconds of silence, she said in a low voice: "...Your safety and comfort are the highest priority. Such unnecessary social contact increases the complexity of risk assessment."
"Alright, alright, my Guardian." Artoria laughed even more happily, pulling her back to the center of the court, "Let's continue playing, just the two of us. I'll be more serious this time, I promise not to hit the ball away."
Minerva was pulled along, her gaze finally completely withdrawn from the direction where Mark had disappeared, and fell back onto Artoria. She nodded, and the low pressure around her seemed to dissipate quietly: "Okay. Do you need me to adjust the force of the serve?"
"No, just like before, the kind that's easy to catch!" Artoria got into position, looking at her with bright eyes.
For the rest of the time, no one came to bother them. They continued their volleyball game with only each other under the sun. Artoria could feel that Minerva's movements seemed more "focused" than before; every time she cushioned the ball to her, the angle and force were precise to the extreme, as if she were completing an important work. And whenever Artoria successfully caught the ball or hit a decent spike, Minerva would nod imperceptibly, the blue light in her optical sensor shining slightly—that was her way of expressing approval.
When they were tired of playing, they sat side by side at the tide line, letting the warm and cool seawater wash over their ankles wave after wave. Artoria rested her head on Minerva's shoulder, closing her eyes to enjoy the sun and the sea breeze. Minerva sat upright, but adjusted the angle of her shoulder to make Artoria more comfortable. She looked quietly at the horizon, one hand naturally placed on the sand beside her, her fingertips unconsciously tracing subtle patterns.
"It would be great if every day could be like this." Artoria whispered.
"According to the schedule and risk assessment, it is unrealistic to be in such a low-alert environment for a long time." Minerva analyzed objectively, but her voice was softer than usual, "However, regularly arranging similar activities is beneficial to your physical and mental health. I can assist in planning." She paused and added, "Daily monitoring and information screening tasks can already be efficiently completed by Little Love. I can allocate more resources to... companionship and real-time protection."
Artoria opened her eyes and looked up at her. The sunlight outlined a soft halo on Minerva's silver-white hair and delicate profile. "Mm, then it's a deal. Every year from now on, we'll find a place to play like this for a few days. Just the two of us. You accompany me, and I accompany you."
"...Okay." Minerva replied, her fingers stopped drawing on the sand and gently covered the back of Artoria's hand resting on the sand. Her palm was slightly cool, but carried a reassuring stability.
In the afternoon at the antique shop in the old town, Artoria bought earrings and ear clips. At night at the seaside restaurant, they watched the harbor lights like a galaxy.
Such relaxed days passed for three days. It wasn't until the fourth morning that Tony's encrypted message brought the news of Ivan's prison break. The vacation atmosphere changed quietly.
But this time, Artoria handed over most of the basic investigation and information screening work directly to Little Love.
"Little Love," she instructed in her consciousness, "Initiate the deep investigation program. Focus: tracing energy traces at the Monaco prison break site; all abnormal capital, personnel, and material flows of Hammer Industries in the last three months, especially those related to Eastern Europe, special explosives, and high-energy weapons; screening of non-public itineraries and communication records of Justin Hammer and his senior management. Synchronize all analysis results with Minerva. Notify me immediately if there are any high-value findings."
"Instruction received, executing." Little Love replied calmly, "Real-time data channel with sister Minerva has been established. Basic network monitoring and intelligence filtering will enter an automated process, which is expected to free up about 73% of sister Minerva's relevant computing resources."
Artoria looked at Minerva, who was quickly operating something on her personal terminal, and reached out to press down on her screen: "Minerva, let Little Love do these things. You are in vacation mode now, your main task is... um, to accompany me. Just look at the results when the data is synchronized."
Minerva's fingers paused above the virtual keyboard, her optical sensor turned to Artoria, seemingly a bit hesitant: "But threat assessment and contingency planning..."
"We can discuss the contingency plans later. For now, let's enjoy the rest of the vacation." Artoria smiled, "I trust Little Love's ability, and I believe you can handle any situation immediately when needed. But right now, I need you here more, looking at the sea with me, instead of staring at the data stream."
Minerva looked at Artoria for a few seconds, then slowly nodded and closed the terminal screen. "Understood. The real-time data stream is connected, and I will maintain basic vigilance. Little Love will notify me immediately if any abnormalities are found." She adjusted her sitting posture, putting more attention back on the sea view in front of her and the Artoria beside her.
In the following days, the investigation was led by Little Love in the background. Minerva occasionally checked the synchronized data and provided some directional suggestions, but for most of the time, as Artoria said, she was in "companionship mode." They still took walks, dined, and explored, only occasionally interspersing short discussions about the information Little Love sent.
The day before the vacation ended, Little Love sent the preliminary investigation results about Hammer Industries. Minerva quickly browsed the synchronized data and reported briefly to Artoria, her tone calm: "The indirect evidence chain points to Hammer. He likely rescued Ivan, with the arc reactor technology as the motive."
"Tip off Tony, then, watch the show." Artoria decided.
After returning to New York, the day of the hearing arrived. The living room TV was broadcasting the live stream from Washington. Tony faced the Senate inquiry alone. When Senator Stern was aggressive, Tony hacked the live broadcast TV to play a montage of Hammer Industries' failed products, and the whole audience was in an uproar.
Watching Tony leave in style on TV, Artoria turned off the TV and couldn't help laughing: "Hammer has really lost face this time."
"Tactical humiliation, significant effect." Minerva analyzed, "But it will escalate the conflict. Hammer holds Ivan, which may accelerate his actions."
"So we have to keep a close watch." Artoria looked out the window, "Minerva, you and Little Love cooperate, focusing on monitoring Hammer's R&D department and secret locations where Ivan might be imprisoned or utilized. Hammer must be anxious now."
"Understood." Minerva replied. Almost simultaneously, Little Love's calm voice sounded through their shared communication channel: "The monitoring network is ready, and the priority of monitoring external communication traffic of Hammer Industries has been raised. Sister Minerva, do you need me to filter for specific keywords or abnormal data packets?"
"Perform broad-spectrum monitoring first, and Mark all internal communications and purchase orders related to 'energy', 'exoskeleton', 'test', and 'Eastern Europe'." Minerva replied, her tone clear and concise, typical of when she was working, "Specifically Mark the itineraries and contacts of Justin Hammer and his three core R&D executives."
"Instruction confirmed." Little Love responded.
Artoria watched Minerva quickly enter working mode, but this time, she no longer needed to process massive amounts of raw data screening simultaneously, only needing to review the intelligence summaries preliminarily organized and marked by Little Love to make judgments. This allowed Minerva to focus more attention on global analysis and threat assessment, and also... respond to Artoria more timely.
"Artoria," Minerva suddenly turned to look at her, the blue light in her optical sensor flashing slightly, "Little Love has captured an abnormal power consumption pattern in an auxiliary warehouse of Hammer Industries, which matches the characteristics of a small high-energy laboratory. The coordinates have been marked. Do you need further investigation?"
"Let Tony's people keep an eye on this place too." Artoria thought, "We won't intervene directly for now, but we'll keep monitoring. Hammer and Ivan... should be making moves soon."
The vacation was over. The warmth of the sun and beach and the laughter on the volleyball court were cherished, and Little Love's efficient operation allowed Minerva to be slightly freed from the tedious ocean of information, focusing more on her core "guarding" and "companionship." A new storm was brewing after the laughter of the hearing, but this time, they had a clearer goal and more optimized collaboration.
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