The case proceeded without any obstacle. The judge, contrary to what the evidence said about him, worked effortlessly with a serious expression on his face. He listened to both the parties and turned to the group of judges who had come to listen.
The man said, "What's your opinion on this?"
Here, in this world, judges would often be divided into two categories every time there's a hearing. The chief judge would sit at the center beneath the statue of justice to make the final decision. Other judges, the chief's colleagues, would sit on the side to give their opinion on the matter.
A good judge would often work together with his colleagues and make a decision after hearing both the sides clearly. But a corrupt one would do things half-heartedly without even bothering to listen to the opinions.
Anyone would be able to differentiate between a good and a bad judge by seeing their behavior. From what Ed could see, the current judge wasn't a corrupt one.
His brows furrowed at that as he stared at the court.
The scene in front of him could be called an ordinary court without any corrupt officials. Even the ones sitting by the judge performed their duty properly.
Ed shook his head. He couldn't judge so fast. He should continue spying on this person for a while.
After half an hour, William ordered the sides to collect more evidence on the case and closed the case for the day. Everyone got up and walked out of the hall.
Ed had an unusual expression on his face as he walked in a daze. Even though he doubted everything he had heard of, he was still shocked to his core after learning hai suspicions were true.
Dirt, who had been watching his master, frowned. "Master, what's wrong?"
"What's your opinion on the hooded woman?" Ed stared at the street in front of him in a daze.
Dirt thought for a while and said, "I get a familiar feeling from her as if I have some connection with her."
"You can feel too?" Ed raised his brows.
Dirt glared at the man before shaking his head. "I can't, but I have data, and according to it, there's some kind of connection… you can say I feel there's another me inside her."
Ed stopped asking about it. He took a deep breath and glanced at the sky.
From what he could see, the hooded woman must be from the future. And in that future, there mustn't be him and Dirt. Otherwise, he would never ever let go of Dirt in the hands of such a vile woman.
Dirt was the first robot he and Max had ever created. Even though they were clumsy, they still had enough knowledge passed down from his grandfather. Dirt was supposed to be a trial and error case, but after a few years or continuous practice, they were able to create a masterpiece perfectly.
It was followed by a few more robots, but since Dirt had been the first robot ever, they had given him the best of what they could find, editing the database and programming setup time and time again.
So how could he let go of his creation? He must be dead for sure in the future.
His eyes narrowed. How did he die?
His intuition told him that it could be because of that hooded woman for sure. Who else could do this except for her?
She has trained them since childhood. He turned into a suspicious, cold guy because of her. It could be said that she was his sole master, but he still doubted her till the end for some reason. It turned out he was right about his doubts.
She really wasn't someone who could be trusted.
Now, the question was, should he tell Max about it or not?
After thinking about it, he decided he should let his brother know. Max could choose whether to believe him or not. Ed could give the other man a chance.
After thinking about it, Ed walked toward his place near the institute with his robot.
Max was yet to come. So he pulled out the list from his desk and decided to spy on other people in the meanwhile.
After spying for a while until late night, Ed realized one thing.
Each and every single one of the officers were good and diligent in their work. They did their best to make sure the system world operated perfectly without any crimes. Even the crime rate had been controlled under their hands.
It could be said that they were pillars of modern society. Without these people, the government could crumble to dust.
Ed scoffed when he realized this. He came back to his house late at night, but Max still hadn't come back.
He could clearly see what the hooded woman wanted. She probably was after the System God and wanted to get rid of the guy for some reason. Him and Max were probably just small pawns she could use for her benefit.
As he walked inside his room, he warned Dirt, "Don't trust that hooded woman anymore. I feel there's something wrong with her."
Dirt nodded. "That's right. She's scheming something behind our backs. She's a villain!"
A certain 'villain' who was considered as a vile woman was currently hiding behind a pillar, staring at Max who killed the fifth guy for today. She was very satisfied with his work.
The guy didn't even ask or doubt her words, directly believing everything. She had to say her plan was going smoothly. After crumbling the officials to dust, she could proceed to get Max to fight with the System God and defeat him.
But she herself knew that Max was no match for the man. The current System God was too powerful. So the only way for Max to defeat the other was through deceit.
So they had to find some kind of poison to weaken the other system. They might have to wander from one dungeon to another for that.
Sigh. Max really had too much to do at the moment. She was nearly tired as she leaned against the wall.
"Shane, you handle it now. You already know what I want."
Before Shane could refuse, the body transfer was already done. He blinked as he stood there in a daze, glancing at Max.
He angrily said, "What the heck?! Hope, you already know I don't like being a host!"
"You've been resting for quite a while. Don't you think it's my turn now? Don't worry. I won't be sleeping, but I'll guide you through the process. Okay?"
Why did Shane feel like he was being coaxed like a child? His nose flared in anger as he took a deep breath.
He shouldn't argue with a stupid woman. He directly ignored her and continued to focus as Max successfully killed a guy, returning to his side.
"So? How did I do?" His eyes stared at the hooded woman with a hint of anticipation.
Shane had the urge to gauge his eyes for staring like that but he held himself back and said, "Good job. We're done for today. Let's go back."
The two of them went back as Max went back to his room and rested. Shane also walked outside for a while before turning to Hope.
"Let's time travel again."
"Wait for a day," said Hope. "I have an intuition we shouldn't hurry."
"Ah. a girl's intuition?" Shane spoke in a voice full of sarcasm.
Hope refused to reply as she continued to sit silently inside her mind.
Shane sighed and walked around on his own before turning and entering his room as well. That's right. The original Hope bought the house right outside the institute, beside Max's and Ed's place, to keep a better eye on them. Aside from that, the future Hope had been leaving instructions for the past Hope so that they could carry out the mission perfectly and without hesitation.
So even if they time traveled, it wouldn't matter because Hope from the past would be there to handle the brothers. But for some reason, Hope seemed to want to wait a little longer to see what was happening.
Sure enough, something did happen. When Shane woke up the next day, Ed and Dirt were missing, as Max had a deep cut on the side of his face, marking it red. His expression was dark as he leaned against the wall outside his room.
Shane walked over and asked, "What happened?"
"Ed… he's gone, and he's never going to come back. He's really gone!" After saying that, Max let out a depressing chuckle as he laughed loud and clear.
After laughing for a while, his laughter turned into sadness as he bent over and fell on his back. His hands covered his knees as he placed his head there and cried bitterly.
Shane only watched the scene without changing his expression.
He knew that Ed and Max would have a fight, but he didn't think it would be this soon. He remembered that when he met Ed for the first time, the man had been living in the institute with Dirt for years whereas Max became the new System God.
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