()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>m_avg_casual</BGM><BIN>167</BIN>:The next day, the two Dolls meet at the base's underground train station.+Surprisingly enough, TS12 is very punctual.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Huh, I feel a little relieved now.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:Hm? What do you mean?
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:I thought I'd have to wait two hours for you to show up, or that you'd just stand me up.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:How rude! I might be impatient, but I have basic respect for my friends.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Alright, maybe you're actually more reliable than you look, but I hope you'll have the same patience for what comes next.+That's because I found out the package was sent from a riverside city quite far from here.+After taking the expenses into consideration, our only option is a long-haul train ride, which is going to take about 20 hours or so...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:XM8 observes TS12, who looks unfazed, much to her surprise.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:What, you thought I'd flip out or something?+Quite the opposite, in fact—I prepared for this ahead of time!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Saying so, she pulls out a huge pile of yellowed sci-fi novels from her bag.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:I can make it through the whole day with these!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_Subway</SE1>:Soon, a weather-beaten train pulls noisily into the station.+There don't seem to be any humans inside, so they don't need to give up their seats.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑点1>:The sun sets during the course of the long, bumpy journey, and their destination's lamp-lit silhouette comes into view as they draw closer.+It is a new city, and the most eye-catching thing there is that logistics company...
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||<BIN>166</BIN><Night><SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1><黑点2>:Wow, there are tall buildings everywhere... This place looks even newer than the region around the Griffin base.+All the surrounding people are wearing the uniforms of that logistics company.+I wonder if I should say the company belongs to this city, or if the city itself belongs to the company.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:Let's see, the time now is... 3am, and they're still open for business.+Are the humans around us actually robots?
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Don't let your imagination run away with you. Maybe there's a big shopping festival going on.+Miss Kalina's been spending all day sorting out packages in the warehouse recently.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:That's the company building's entrance. Let's see if we can finish investigating by daybreak.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_door_elecport</SE1>:The two of them pass through the fancy automatic door before them. The opulent receiving lounge feels very out of place to them.+It is very hard to think of this as a company that doesn't usually get visitors.
()<Speaker>Human Receptionist</Speaker>||:Welcome to Branch 77 of Federal Logistics, esteemed Doll ladies.+How may I help you?
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:I'd like to check a package ID. You sent this, right?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Book</SE1>:XM8 slides over a piece of notepaper with package serial numbers and Belenko's ID written on it.
()<Speaker>Human Receptionist</Speaker>||:A moment please...+There is a sender by that name, but we cannot reveal his identity to you. Our apologies.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:Hey! Doesn't the sign on your workstation say you offer business inquiry services here?
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>Human Receptionist</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Indeed it does, but since such inquiries involve personal information, we normally only provide them for human beings, but the two of you...
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:So you're saying Dolls don't even have the right to find out who sent them mail?+How lame, you and I are both cogs in society, yet you humans always make such paranoid rules to make things difficult for us!
XM8(0)<Speaker>Human Receptionist</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Please mind your words, Miss Doll.+Humans and Dolls are very different from each other.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Oh, I see, this city is big and fancy but where do you stand in it?+All I see is Federal Logistics, which owns you from head to toe.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The receptionist's professional smile freezes on her face for several seconds, while TS12 quietly kicks XM8.+She's gone too far.
()<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_footsteps_cave</SE1>:Oh my, what seems to be the problem?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:Though the tension in the air is fleeting, it doesn't seem to have escaped the manager's keen nose.+A man who appears to be "coincidentally passing by" glides over to the receptionist.
()<Speaker>Human Receptionist</Speaker>||:My sincerest apologies, Mr. Manager!
()<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker>||:What are you butting heads with two Dolls about? Go take a break for a while.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The receptionist makes room without uttering a word, and she is replaced by the manager, whose smile is even more rigid than hers.
()<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker>||:Please accept our sincere apologies. It is not in our company's habit to overlook the needs of our Doll customers.+We will be glad to perform the inquiry as long as you can prove that you are the true recipient. That is the case for all our customers.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:XM8 forcefully whips out a stack of receipts stamped with Griffin PMC's seal.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Book</SE1>:The manager takes a few seconds to silently flip through the receipts. It would seem this customer is much better prepared than he expected.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:We're from Griffin PMC.+These are the receipts our logistics department issued us. The ID we're looking for is in there. Is that enough for you?
XM8(0)<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker><同时置暗>||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_Click_Keyboard</SE1>:Of course. One moment please. We will find the ID right away.+This gentleman placed 103 items with us three years ago and arranged for them to be sent to your company at midnight this Friday.+Finally, we have confirmed that they were received yesterday, at 11:20am. Is anything out of order?
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:His address! What is the sender's address?
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker><同时置暗>||:I am sorry, but we have no record of that information. The sender requested for his personal information to be withheld.+We simply did our duty and fulfilled this long-term arrangement.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:What?!
XM8(0)<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker><同时置暗>||:It is the truth. Please, have a look.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:The manager turns the computer monitor around, which includes complex shipping instructions, but only the sender's info is obscured.+Their trail of clues has gone cold...
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:Alright. It must be pretty hard on you to be working this late at night...
()<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker>||:It is our honor to serve for the vigor of Federal Logistics.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The manager bows slightly to the two of them.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:What the hell do you mean by vigor anyway?!
XM8(0)<Speaker>Logistics Manager</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Nothing could be more appropriate.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||<黑点1>:TS12... I know why there aren't any street lamps in this city...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>84</BIN><Night><黑点2>:XM8 tugs at the corner of TS12's clothes and quickly drags her out of this strange-feeling company.+After that, the two of them sit aimlessly on one of the roadside benches.+TS12 gazes at the canal in the distance uneasily, while XM8 tries to gather her thoughts as she studies the chess piece in her hand.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||:So what do we do now?+XM8?
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||<震屏>:<size=50>Are we going back to the base? XM8?!</size>
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Shut up! I thought of something.+But I'll need some time.
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:What's wrong?
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:It's a long story, but in short I'll need to go to Level II.+Keep an eye on my body!
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:What? Right now? But how?
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:I'm going to lie on the bench and you're going to look after my body, that's how.+Got that?
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:I'll tell you this, I can't wait more than half an hour.
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Weren't you doing fine on the train? Just read your novels!
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>;XM8(0)||:I've calculated my reading time carefully. If I keep reading now, I won't have enough left for the journey back.
TavorTS12(0);XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:I could just WRITE new stories for you considering you're into all that clichéd stuff.+Oh and by the way, if I wake up and find that I've been Dollnapped...+My email account is going to blast the Commander 24/7 with a list of all those "high-tech" experiments you've been doing!
TavorTS12(0)<Speaker>TS12</Speaker>||<震屏><黑点1>:<size=50>XM8!!! That's despicable!</size>
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>72</BIN><黑点2><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:As TS12 yells at her, XM8 dives into her own Level II layer.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<白屏1>:Virtual data reconstructs a tiny, silent world.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>80</BIN><白屏2><BGM>GF_Memorial</BGM>:It is an empty chess gaming room, with a white-haired old man seated at the place near the window.+The calendar on the desk indicates that the date is several years ago.
XM8(0)<Speaker>XM8</Speaker>||:Valeriy Belenko!!+You... you're still here!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:At the sound of his name, Belenko lifts his head robotically and smiles in a kindly way.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Belenko</Speaker>||:Have you come to fulfill your promise for one last game, Miss Black Madder?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:With that, he pulls out the chair on the opposite side of the round table before him, revealing a pile of taken pieces.+The only pieces left are a white pawn and the black king.
()||<黑屏1>: