()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>2</BIN><BGM>GF_2022_Summer_AVG_4</BGM>:The afternoon sun blazes in the sky. +After dozens of kilometers down the highway leading out of the city, both sides of the road now look visibly desolate, with very few vehicles passing by.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:According to the logs, my trajectory overlaps almost perfectly with this highway, and I traveled more than two hundred kilometers in just three hours. Thus, I must have arrived at the place of the incident in a vehicle. +And this Miss Nida Povna who took all my savings—
()||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Horn_Car</SE1>:Px4 Storm grips the steering wheel and smacks the car horn in frustration.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:It's obvious she's not capable of holding me for ransom by herself, so I suspect that she hired me under some sort of guise to lure me out of town.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:And only decided to commit the deed just 200 kilometers out?
VPM5(0)<Speaker>V-PM5</Speaker>||:It's far away enough that Griffin's help won't be able to reach her before it's too late, even if we come in a helicopter.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:Quite possibly. +But we'll have to investigate the crime scene to see what's the deal exactly.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:The Commander gave us a full day off. With a 3-hour drive, making it 6 hours for a round trip... +Add on another 2 hours for the investigation. Huh, that's not too bad.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:What if we are slow on the investigation? +Just in case, it's better to allocate more time for onsite surveys.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:Eh?
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:You girls know what's one great thing about being a Doll?
VPM5(0)<Speaker>V-PM5</Speaker>||:Huh?
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1>:No motion sickness! Hold on tight—
()<Speaker>Tabuk/V-PM5</Speaker>||<controll_shake>%%type_id=2%%duration=1%%delay=0.1%%range=8</controll_shake>:Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!
()||<黑点1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑点2><边框>2</边框><BIN>262</BIN>:At dusk.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_amb_wilderness</SE1><BGM>BGM_Scar_Main</BGM>:Reaching the end of the highway, the fading orange sun slowly dips below the horizon as a battered car races against the haze. +Nida sits in the passenger seat, twirling with her phone and sending text messages as Px4 bobs her head and hums a little tune.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:♪♪♪♪♪♪~~~~~~
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...You're having the time of your life over there.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Being able to make money even after work, of course I'm happy♪
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Can't you tell I'm being sarcastic?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I can tell you're upset. +You are going to Prague to meet "a very important person", right? Aren't you glad that your wish is coming true?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Glad...+How can I be glad after bearing witness to the conditions those people at the food bank are in?
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_Zipper</SE1>:Nida takes the rye bread out of her backpack.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:That little girl, she's so scrawny, so young, yet all she's got for food are these rye breads. Otherwise, she either starves or has to pick up garbage to...
()||<边框>2</边框>:The corners of Px4's lips gradually droop down.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:For them, to stay outside the city, especially in the presence of ELIDs, is practically a death sentence. +But is it really safer to stay in the city? Homeless, deprived, and barely hanging onto life, they are only alive thanks to handouts.
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:So you felt miserable for what happened to that little girl and powerless to do anything about it?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:I didn't—+Well, maybe just a little, a tiny bit.
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Tsk. Famine, disease, natural disasters, Collapse Radiation, they happen all the time. +Even my Mastermind—that being my Commander—can't change the world for the better instantly, let alone an ordinary person like you.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:...I've never been able to understand... Why are so many people still starving despite the war being over for a decade, despite the city being so big, and despite technology being so advanced?
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:What do you think is the reason?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:They can't afford to buy food?
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:And why can't they afford it?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:Hmmm... Because the deteriorating environment caused food prices to remain high?
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Consider that one of the reasons, but most importantly, they don't have an income and live on welfare.+Why's that? Because they can't find work and don't have more sophisticated survival skills. +Why can't they find a job? Think about the sea of Dolls in the city doing all the cleaning, moving, guiding, housekeeping, maintenance...
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:Are you saying that Dolls robbed them of their jobs?
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Haha, robbed them of their jobs? No—+Miss Patron, has your family ever hired a housekeeping Doll or a caretaker Doll?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>;Px4Storm(0)||<边框>2</边框>:My parents employ a housekeeper Doll on their side. Why do you ask?
NPC_baolan(0);Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Let's put it this way: say that your parents are getting older and now, you need to find them a caretaker.+Employee A, who is 70-80% competent, is always gentle and affectionate, carries out your orders without compromise, and even lets you scold them. Moreover, they can gain the full range of caretaking knowledge with just a few minutes of "learning". +Employee A only requires a one-time payment and going forward, as long as she's recharged and maintained, has no additional fee and requires no vacations unless you grant them. You can even send them straight back to the recycle station if you don't want them anymore. +Employee B, whose competency fluctuates randomly between minus 50 and plus 100, is paid a monthly salary, works five days out of seven, needs to be paid for overtime work, and requires expensive insurance. B can quit their job anytime they want to, and you'll have to pay a penalty for breaking contract if you terminate them on your own initiative.+Now, Miss Patron, who would you choose?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框><Shake>0.5</Shake>:...Is that even a question?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:So the humans who could provide jobs actively chose Dolls?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Just like for this commission, why didn't you choose a human mercenary in desperate need of money instead of me, a T-Doll from a PMC?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...Human minds are quite opaque. At least you wouldn't leave me halfway down the road or force me to take off my clothes at gunpoint.
Px4Storm(4)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Well, if you add some tips and sign a disclaimer, I can certainly do that...
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Hey!
Px4Storm(4)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:So you know you didn't intentionally mean for the human mercenary to starve. You just made the most beneficial choice for yourself. +Those "upper classes" who make heavy use of Dolls do the same thing.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:There are countless children in the world who don't get enough food, and the problems they face can't be solved by you providing them with a single loaf of bread. +Yes, they are miserable, but you're not at fault.
()||<边框>2</边框>:Nida grieves.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:What if I am?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:What do you mean by that?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Some food brings solace, while others only bring harm.
Px4Storm(4)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Like the rye bread, they bring both physical and psychological trauma—
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Hey, why does that car keep tailing us?
()||<边框>2</边框>:In the rearview mirror, headlights flash in the twilight as the black car emerges from the last merge ramp, keeping its distance far behind.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>Rope</SE1>:Nida also notices the trailing vehicle. Her expression suddenly shifts as she clutches the jeweled pendant in front of her chest.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Let me guess, they're the "strongly against" guys?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Yes... No...
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Is it or is it not?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I'm actually not a good person, I'm sorry, Px4...
()||<黑屏1><边框>2</边框><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>1</BIN><SE1>AVG_wind_grass</SE1><BGM>GF_2022_Summer_AVG_4</BGM>:The wilderness is vast and sprawling, thick greens and withering yellows intertwine, and the highway is steaming with heat. +The vehicle with Griffin's logo emerges from the horizon.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:We're almost at the location where my signal disappeared. Watch your perimeter.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:If the electronic speed detectors on this road are working, you're going to lose your license!
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:There's no speed limit if there are no speed traps. +Huh?
()||<SE1>AVG_Car_Skid</SE1>:Skrrrt—Px4 Storm slams on the brakes, Tabuk covers her forehead and cries out.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:Dolls don't get motion sick, but they still have to abide by the laws of physics!
VPM5(0)<Speaker>V-PM5</Speaker>||:I-I feel like I'm actually getting carsick...
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:Ahem, I saw something interesting and got excited.+ Let's get off and take a look!
()||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Car_Open</SE1>:The three Dolls disembark the vehicle one after the other.+The aging highway features arcs of blackened tire marks, evidence of an abrupt stop.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:Tire marks? +Could you be the one who left them?
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:This is getting very close to the spot where my signal disappeared, so it's quite possible.+Let's take a photo to document it.
()||<SE1>AVG_The_Division_Camera</SE1>:Px4 raises her camera and snaps a few shots, then labels them on the screen.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:Although there are only two sets of tire marks, a lot of information can be deduced from them, such as the speed, model of the vehicle, and direction of travel. +A little extrapolation based on the measured data can restore the situation at that time.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:Tire mark identification? It seems you're familiar with that kind of stuff...
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:A little bit.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:Let's see... the front car braked sharply, the rear one avoided... +Tsk, the rear car's driver must be a bad driver, look at how the guardrail is all deformed. But why didn't the front car just keep running in this case? If you braked sharply, you might get rear-ended by the other car.
Tabuk(0)<Speaker>Tabuk</Speaker>||:That woman was in your car. Could she have caused it?
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:We have way too little information to conclude. Let's keep looking.
()||:The group searches around for a while before V-PM5 points to the guardrail on the left side of the highway.
VPM5(0)<Speaker>V-PM5</Speaker>||:Look, Px4, there are bullet holes on the railing! Fresh ones at that.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:Judging from the angle, it's the rear car that fired at the front car and hit the rail...+Why didn't the front car fire back? Given my personality, I would've been stocked with ammo.
()||<SE1>AVG_The_Division_Camera</SE1>:V-PM5 snaps several shots of bullet holes and nods in satisfaction as she looks at the pictures.
VPM5(0)<Speaker>V-PM5</Speaker>||:I knew it; nothing disappears without a trace.
Px4StormMod(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||:So... what's the point of just deleting my memory?! Is the person who robbed me stupid? +Every trace talks if you know how to read it.
()||<黑点1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<BIN>1</BIN><黑点2><边框>2</边框><Night><BGM>10247</BGM>:The twilight grows darker, and the sky is left with only a thick ink-colored smear.
()||<SE1>AVG_amb_wilderness</SE1><边框>2</边框>:Amidst the wilderness, two "fireflies", one chasing the other, travel at high speeds.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Coincidentally, I wasn't exactly nice in the past either.+Now tell me, who the hell is tailing us?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Bunch of blood-sucking, mother****ing assholes!
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Your parents? Relatives? Fiancé?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...Former coworkers.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Ex-colleagues? And they "strongly oppose" you to meet that "important person"? +There must be some very special bonds between you for them to chase you down over hundreds of kilometers.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1>:Px4 shifts gear and slightly increases the vehicle's speed; the rear car follows suit. +Nida grips the armrest with one hand and clutches the jeweled pendant with the other.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Your ability to roast others is far more special! +They're out to get me, can you protect me?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Let's see... I spot one human and two Dolls in the rear car.+I can deal with the Dolls no problem, can't say the same with the human—remember, my firearm authorization is no longer in effect.+Do you know how to shoot?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I don't...+Wait, I don't even have a gun! Can I borrow yours?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:No way. Weapons and bank cards are out of the question for lending. +Sheesh, the odds of you beating that human male in a fight are less than 5%, so that might be a bit of a problem.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:So... if I get caught by them, may I ask you a favor?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Tell me what it is first. If it's beyond our agreed driver's duties, it depends.
()||<边框>2</边框>:Nida laughs bitterly.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Then please deliver this memory card to a journalist in Prague called Michela Pavlova for me! +Make sure you tell everyone that rye breads from the food banks are inedible!
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:You're a journalist? What's wrong with the rye bread?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I'm a former employee of Ceres Bakeries.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Ceres, the biggest baking company in the area?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:That's right, Ceres is responsible for supplying the city's food banks with rye bread. +To turn a profit, they purchased moldy or heavy metal-polluted wheat that should have been destroyed at very low prices to produce their bread. +Those who've come to claim their food.... they have no idea that, one bite at a time, they're cannibalizing their own lives!
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Do you have any proof?
()||<边框>2</边框>:Px4 glances at the rearview mirror, the opponent still following closely.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I'm the witness!
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:What about physical evidence? I want something solid.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:It's all in this memory card. +They'll definitely search me when they catch me, and we'll lose the evidence.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_Button_Click</SE1>:Nida opens her jeweled pendant, the large gemstone turns out to be hollow, housing inside a fingernail-sized memory card.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Ever since I discovered the problem with the ingredients, I tried a lot of things, but none of them worked! +I've made posts on the Internet, but they were all deleted or restricted; I tried persuading people on the streets not to eat rye bread, and they called me crazy. +I even filed an official report with my credentials attached, and the next day, three thugs showed up at my door with my report and harassed me by splashing paint and throwing rats—
()||<边框>2</边框>:Looking at the black car in the rearview mirror, Nida is filled with rage.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I had no choice but to hide and dared not go outside. My former boss threatened me on several occasions, forcing me to hand over the evidence.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:So you're going to Prague for...
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:I bounced around on the Internet and found the contact of a reporter in Prague, who promised to help me get the story out as long as I met her with the evidence.+Given that we're going though all this wilderness, I was afraid to go by myself. If I hadn't met you at the food bank today, I'd be in the black market taking my chances with the illegal Dolls there.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Mind if I take a look at this memory card?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:There you go.
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1><边框>2</边框>:Nida hands over the memory card without hesitation, Px4 takes it without plugging it in to read its data.
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Now the question is, halfway through our trip, your "fellow coworkers" somehow caught up to us with pinpoint accuracy. How did they know where you are?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Either you've got a tracker installed on you—but my scans return negative. +Or, is that "very important person" you were talking about really a journalist? That is to say, are they really Miss Michela Pavlova?
()||<边框>2</边框>:Nida seems to have picked up on something; she scrolls through her phone, the rage on her face slowly fades.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Those bastards! Liars! +They're after me, you take the memory card and run! Don't forget the bread too! +As long as there's evidence, sooner or later, those bloodsuckers are going to pay!
()||<边框>2</边框>:Looking into those tearful yet resolute eyes, Px4 Storm smiles.
Px4Storm(4)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Then you're really lucky to have met me.
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Eh?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:We can't go to Prague. "Someone" must be waiting for you there.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_Car_Skid</SE1>:The vehicle brakes sharply. if not for her buckled seatbelt, Nida would have certainly smacked into the windshield.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_Car_Skid</SE1>:Skrrrt—the rear car, seemingly not expecting this, nearly rear-ends and narrowly swings out of the way.
Px4Storm(4)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Since I've accepted the task and charged you, I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of my patron. After all, I am—Px4 Storm!
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_engine_speedup</SE1>:Px4 Storm spins the steering wheel wildly and turns the vehicle around in a silky smooth motion, driving off the highway through one of the interchanges. +The black car quickly turns around and gives chase, a testament to its sheer performance.
()<Speaker>Ceres Employee</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:<size=50>Povna, stop or I'll shoot!</size>
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:What do I do?!
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:Can you drive?
NPC_baolan(0)<Speaker>Nida</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...Does failing the road test 7 times in a row count?
Px4Storm(0)<Speaker>Px4 Storm</Speaker>||<边框>2</边框>:...Take over! +We'll exchange seats now. Don't let off the gas and hold the steering wheel steady!
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>Select</SE1>:The two quickly trade positions as Px4 opens the window and loads her gun.
()||<边框>2</边框><SE1>AVG_pistol_finalshot_n</SE1><controll_shake>%%type_id=2%%duration=1%%delay=0.1%%range=8</controll_shake>:Bang!
()||<边框>2</边框><黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>: