#608 - Escape

In front of Snowball, those mere Sentinel robots were easily dealt with. Without Gwen even lifting a finger, the headless Sentinel robot beneath her feet became her exclusive bodyguard.

"Just as I thought."

Gwen slightly curved the corners of her mouth beneath her mask. These machine sentinels typically possess their own independent networks to prevent external hacking, which could lead to unforeseen consequences.

Without a network connection, even a shapeshifter couldn't control a Sentinel robot out of thin air. However, contact changes everything, and the results proved Gwen's hypothesis correct.

With just one Sentinel robot, Gwen could use Snowball to reverse engineer through the individual robot's sub-network, thereby controlling the entire Sentinel robot army.

However, such an operation would likely attract Hyperion. Not wanting a direct confrontation, Gwen wasn't planning to create a major incident. If it were just about escaping, such trouble wouldn't be necessary.

Controlling a single Sentinel robot would suffice. These robots only have very simple AI. To prevent them from killing each other or firing upon ordinary people, Howard programmed them with strict directives.

This means their behavior patterns would avoid both scenarios. Therefore, a Sentinel controlled by Gwen would attack other Sentinels, but conversely, they wouldn't attack it.

"My summer practical assignments were better than this."

Swinging away on a web, Gwen couldn't help but complain. Now that the trouble was resolved, it was time to find Katie.

Just now, she and Katie had decided on this strategy: Gwen would act as bait to lure away all the Sentinel robots, and Katie would seize the opportunity to escape. Finally, they would find a place to meet up.

The first step of the plan was complete; now for the final step: meeting up.

Gwen raised her right hand, and the Snowball suit thoughtfully conjured a screen displaying a map. A small red dot was constantly moving on the map.

That small red dot was Katie. Gwen had placed a tracker on her to save time.

Projecting the map onto her visor, Gwen shot a web and waved to the headless Sentinel in the distance that was wreaking havoc, saying,

"Bye-bye, good boy."

...

Wearing loose clothes and a baseball cap, Katie tried hard not to look suspicious. She pretended to walk casually down the street, occasionally shifting her gaze towards the storefronts as if curious.

Katie's pace was steady. Except for the initial moments when she could run a few steps while mixed in with the fleeing crowd, she had to slow down to avoid suspicion after the crowd calmed down.

Fortunately, everyone was preoccupied with their own affairs, and Gwen's commotion was significant enough that no one noticed her, a small invisible person. Katie successfully walked half a block.

'Beep beep!'

Feeling the vibration from the bracelet on her wrist, Katie understood immediately. Gwen had given her this bracelet, telling her that with it, she wouldn't get lost even across a country.

"Hey! Katie!"

Just as Katie's eyes were darting around, searching for Gwen's figure, someone called out to her not far away. She instinctively looked up and found that it was Gwen who had called her.

Gwen's appearance didn't seem like she had just been through a battle. Moreover, Gwen was even holding a drink, looking refreshed and relaxed, like an ordinary girl meeting a friend to hang out.

"G-Gwen?" Katie was stunned. The scene before her was completely different from what she had imagined. Weren't they just in a life-or-death escape a second ago?

"It's me."

Gwen finished the last bit of drink in her cup and casually tossed it into the trash can behind her.

"What's wrong? Aren't we going shopping? What are you waiting for?"

Perhaps tired of waiting, Gwen took two steps forward and took Katie's right hand. The two of them set off hand in hand.

"But... you... I..." Katie stammered, unsure how to start. She was afraid that if she spoke, she would reveal their secret, letting everyone on the street know they were superhumans escaping capture.

"Don't worry, it's all resolved," Gwen said normally. "Just a bunch of bad doggies, nothing scary."

"Then what are we doing now..."

"Going to the mall? Didn't I just say that? Are you worried about me getting hurt? Don't worry, a bunch of Chihuahuas can't hurt me."

Katie was dragged around the mall by Gwen for half the day, and after finishing lunch, she was dragged by Gwen to a warehouse.

"What is this place?" Katie looked uneasily at the warehouse covered in graffiti.

This place looked like the kind of place those street thugs liked to hang out. The tasteless graffiti was everywhere, and Katie couldn't even tell what the original color of the walls was.

She didn't even dare to look down, afraid of seeing balloons filled with white liquid or various syringes.

"The place we're going to live from now on."

Gwen said the words Katie least wanted to hear in the calmest tone, and the latter felt like she had fallen into an abyss.

"Do we have to live here, Gwen?" Katie's feet seemed to have taken root, and she wouldn't move a step. "I can go get a job. Let's just find a cheaper hotel."

"Why live in such an unsafe place?" Gwen frowned. "I don't want to live in a place where every time you open a drawer, there's 'gum,' and the mattresses are definitely filthy."

'Is this place any better?' Katie shouted in her heart, but she saw that Gwen seemed determined to live on the streets. Worried about Gwen, she couldn't turn around and leave her alone, so she had no choice but to obediently follow behind Gwen.

Gwen seemed very familiar with this place. She walked to the modified door of the warehouse and skillfully pressed a big red button next to the door. The next second, a doorbell that could be described as ear-splitting rang.

"Beep beep beep beep beep!"

Katie shrank back in fright. She looked up at Gwen and found that she also looked uncomfortable.

"She still hasn't replaced it." Gwen weakly supported her forehead, looking exhausted.

"Hello, hello, hello!" After the doorbell, a voice came from the intercom. Katie couldn't help but frown. Why did this voice sound so familiar, like she had been hearing it recently?

"Open the door, it's me, Gwen."

Gwen ignored Katie, who was deep in thought behind her, and communicated with the person on the other side of the intercom on her own. But after she finished speaking, Katie immediately understood.

The voice coming from the other side of the intercom was none other than Gwen's voice. Although it was a bit garbled due to the microphone, Katie would never mistake it.