X almost jogged all the way back to his bedroom.
In the empty, silent corridor, only his slightly hurried footsteps echoed back at him.
From quite a distance away, he spotted the blue-haired figure in a white lab coat standing quietly in front of his door—motionless, like a lifelike doll.
"What's wrong, Angela?"
X first glanced at his bedroom door. After staring at it for a while without noticing anything unusual, he turned to Angela.
"What happened? Was the company infiltrated? Did an Abnormality escape? Or is it something even worse?"
"..."
Angela didn't explain. She merely shifted her gaze toward the bedroom door.
"Please open the door and go inside. You'll understand then."
"If it's urgent, why didn't you just go in and check yourself?"
X asked curiously.
"That was your request."
Angela raised an eyebrow. A faint, almost imperceptible emotion flickered in her golden eyes.
"You asked that no one except yourself enter your room without permission—not even to look inside."
"Alright… I thought you hadn't taken that seriously at all."
"Respect is mutual, X ," Angela replied.
"Since you chose to respect me, I will naturally give the same respect to your requests and viewpoints."
"It has nothing to do with protocols or status—just… respect, on my part."
"Heh… it's rare for you to say something like that."
X couldn't help but smile.
The tension he'd felt from being urgently summoned eased considerably at that moment.
Then he reached out and opened the door.
"Alright, let me see what's going on inside…"
With a soft beep and the faint hiss of pressure releasing, the metal door slid open to one side.
Bang—
The instant X stepped inside—before he could even take in the room—the metal door behind him slammed shut.
Immediately afterward, a heavy electromagnetic locking sound echoed from the doorframe.
"..."
X 's heart tightened sharply.
Before he could turn around and pound on the door, demanding an explanation from his secretary, another crisp mechanical notification sounded in the quiet room—
Beep—
The communicator on the bedside table lit up with an incoming call from Angela.
"…Angela, what is this supposed to mean?"
X answered the call calmly.
He wasn't angry—just genuinely confused by her actions.
"After restarting Day 18, you worked continuously at high intensity with the employees for nearly twelve hours," Angela said in her usual flat tone.
"Adding the time you spent handling other matters, your total sleep today will be severely below eight hours."
"I have activated the TT2 Protocol's time-dilation function inside your room. If you go to bed now, you should be able to enjoy approximately ten hours of uninterrupted sleep."
"Please rest assured. The door lock will automatically disengage in three hours."
"As an excellent Manager, your physical health is a valuable asset to the company. Please do not overexert yourself. Thank you."
Beep.
The call was disconnected unilaterally, and silence returned to the room.
"..."
X stood there without saying a word, listening to the sound of the call ending.
That's it?
Those were the only two words that surfaced in his mind.
He looked at the now-dark communicator screen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Wasn't this a bit… overkill?
Then again, it seemed Angela truly didn't know that he'd gained considerable enhancements during his exploration of the inner Lobotomy Corporation—and was still worried about ordinary fatigue.
"…Alright."
X stretched, loosening his stiff body, then sat down at his desk and turned on the electronic terminal.
"Angela rarely takes the initiative to care about me like this. Turning it down would feel like a waste."
As the events of the day replayed in his mind, X chuckled softly and began typing his electronic journal for the day.
—
Lobotomy Corporation — Manager's Office
On one of the surveillance screens, X could be clearly seen sitting at his desk, fingers flying across a projected keyboard.
"..."
Angela watched quietly, without moving, as if she had entered standby mode.
The cold glow of the screen reflected off her face, making her pale-gold eyes shine even more brightly.
Only after X closed the terminal, tidied his clothes, and lay down—after the bedroom lights had fully dimmed—did Angela finally move again.
"Still going to bed only after finishing your diary entries?"
Her lips parted slightly. Resting her chin on one hand, her legs—wrapped in black stockings—were crossed at her side, carrying a hint of melancholy and languid ease.
"No change at all… perhaps I was overthinking it."
She stopped idly toying with the champagne glass in her hand and shifted her gaze from the surveillance screen to the golden liquid inside, where fine bubbles continued to rise.
"There are only nine days left until memory synchronization… In nine days, you should become the same as you used to be."
"..."
After murmuring to herself, Angela fell into a long silence, her thoughts unreadable.
"..."
After a long while, she finally decided to drink the champagne before its last bubbles faded away.
She raised the glass and drained the golden liquid in one go.
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