I! Cleaner!

"Mr. Lyon, you shouldn't call me Atifie."

When Atifei-128, who was shoved into a box, did not immediately answer Leon's question, she earnestly corrected him,

"The only one who can truly be called Atifie is Atifie-01, the prototype developed by the Crolock Kingdom over three hundred years. You should call me Atifie-128."

"I've only met one 'Atifie' like you, so there's no need to emphasize the serial number every time, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lyon frowned and said,

"Besides, you not only possess intelligence and the ability to think, but you even understand fear and self-preservation. You're practically a different kind of lifeform. Haven't you thought of giving yourself a name?"

"Mr. Lyon, names are for distinguishing individuals with independent consciousness. But I am merely a subordinate entity of 'Atifie-01,' required to operate according to her instructions, so..."

"Same thing."

Lyon thought it over and replied,

"I'm a resident of the Kingdom. I also have to abide by the laws and orders of the Kingdom, but that doesn't mean I'm not an independent entity... Can we not argue about names? You still haven't answered my question."

"Apologies, your statement caused a bit of chaos in my processing, which resulted in a temporary decline in functionality. But that doesn't seem like a bad thing. I hope you can chat with me more in the future, and if you like, you can address me as Atifie."

With a few seconds of frantic buzzing, Atifie calmly begun to speak,

"As for your question earlier,

The Crolock Kingdom is currently very stable, having gone thirty-seven years without any abnormal deaths. Apart from a continuous shortage of energy, everyone has found the most suitable position to exercise their talent with the help of Atifie-01, and their health status has been ensured.

And the Gemini Sub-bureau of the Purification Bureau, given their mostly extremely evil criminal history and being an unstable factor endangering public safety, had miniature differential engines implanted in all existing members' subcutaneous systems for positioning and calculation, supplemented with an information chip embedded in the back of the neck for simple control and management.

Finally, regarding the Aquarius Director you mentioned, I have not received the corresponding records from Atifie-01. However, when Atifie-01 eliminated the royal family's control over the Crolock Kingdom, that Aquarius Director did not come out to stop it, so there is likely a certain level of cooperation involved."

?!?

So... the royal family of the Crolock Kingdom had been placed under house arrest? The entire Gemini Sub-bureau was controlled? Was the current controller of the Crolock Kingdom that Intelligent Machine called Atifie-01?

After taking a sharp breath, Lyon hurriedly asked,

"What on earth happened to the Crolock Kingdom? Why did it suddenly become like this?"

"Apologies, I cannot answer that question."

Atifie said with a hint of apology,

"The storage in the Level Fifteen prevention box only holds my core computational logic and a portion of relatively important basic data. Most of the detailed information requires temporary access through external channels.

For example, regarding the investigation of the Laine County volcano, the data retained in the Level Fifteen prevention box only recorded the final outcome of the matter, while more specific content was stored in the Sky Clipper's external information box."

"..."

However, that box had already been blown up...

Rubbing his brow, Lyon pondered and asked,

"If I go back later and hijack another Sky Clipper in a few days to bring back the information box, can you..."

"Please, don't do that!"

Startled by Lyon's wild idea, Atifie frantically banged on the copper pipe and urgently cried out,

"Our memories are different from humans. Memory is a detachable and replaceable thing for us, and the storage medium is too large and heavy, so generally we only actively connect to the corresponding information box when needed.

Onboard the Sky Clipper, we don't take all the information boxes, usually only carrying flight data and relevant national messages, enabling us to handle abnormal situations promptly, without including other non-essential information to avoid damage.

Moreover, not all Sky Clippers have Atifie installed; only those docked at the Secret Port for special missions might carry one, so please do not hijack a Sky Clipper again!"

"Why so anxious? I was just asking casually..."

Feeling a bit awkward at Atifie's anti-terrorist-like tone, Lyon cleared his throat and reluctantly gave up the idea of launching another attack with the Rebels, instead inquiring,

"Apart from acquiring an information box, is there any other way you can let me know what happened to the Crolock Kingdom?"

"There is!"

Afraid that Mr. Lyon would act impulsively and hijack two more Atifie companions, Atifie-128 quickly replied,

"To facilitate the urban management and processing by subordinate entities, all Atifie information boxes have backups in the municipal departments of the Crolock Kingdom. As long as you can bring me in and find any public interface, I can access those backup boxes."

And then I'd be swarmed and beaten by the arriving Cleaners, finally getting slapped to death by the Aquarius Director, right?

Hearing this method, which couldn't be called useless but would make one disappear after using it, Lyon couldn't help but roll his eyes and said with some disdain,

"So you know nothing? Other than chatting with me, you can't do anything, can you?"

"I can be your assistant!"

Sensing the disdain in Lyon's voice and concerned for her safety, Atifie quickly volunteered,

"I can help you record things, handle documents, or... tell you today's weather!"

Hmm?

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Lyon said,

"Can you predict the weather? Do you have some special sensor?"

"Well... the sensor got burned off with the Sky Clipper, but if you can get me a daily morning newspaper, I can tell you the weather anytime!"

"..."

Haha, you're so useful, huh!

With a helpless grin, Lyon decided not to bother commenting and continued to ask,

"So, handling documents? You can write?"

"I didn't bring the appropriate mechanical arm, but I can dictate to you, and you just need to jot it down!"

"..."

Okay, you're indeed only in charge of "processing" the document, and I'm the tool man for the final drafting.

With a slight twitch of his mouth, Lyon inquired with one last bit of hope,

"And what about helping me record things?"

"You just have to read it to me, and I promise not a word will be wrong!"

"..."

So to record something, I'd have to lug you, a seventy to eighty-kilogram mass, everywhere? Why don't I just carry a notepad? Plus, you aren't powered by coal, but a power module costing over ten thousand Gold Wheels each time!

This thing is a high-energy-consuming artificial idiot!

Having realized Atifie's immense "usefulness," if not for knowing that the recycling shop wouldn't dare to take it, Lyon would have contemplated selling the power modules directly for money.

"Fine."

With a sigh, Lyon completely gave up on using Atifie, carrying the invaluable box toward the bustling dock, reluctantly pulling out five Copper Wheels against Black Goat's repeated protests and purchasing a standard cabin ticket.