OLD-WORLD EXTRA

***

One Hour Later

Laura stood in the middle of the main shop's gallery, her hands on her hips.

She looked around at the relics, taking a last glance at each one, making sure that they were all closed shut.

Behind her was Lily with a large terminal in her hands.

It displayed a long list of tasks that were being ticked off one by one.

"All good, mom?"

Laura took a second longer to look then nodded, turning around to face her daughter.

"Everything's locked; there's no error in the system."

Another task was ticked.

"Great. So it's only the first floor that was the problem, huh..."

"Looks like it."

Lily swiped twice on the terminal and operated the facilities onboard AI like a natural, locking the place's current state as the complete lockdown state.

While AIS had taken over many human jobs, most people were still in charge of overseeing these AIS, acting as their managers and bosses.

They needed to know the right prompts, when and how to use them, and have a broad understanding of most things in the world-from science to astrology.

Much like the Industrial Revolution, AI automation eliminated numerous jobs but also created new ones.

Although the ratio wasn't equal, rather it wasn't even close to being so, it still wasn't as dire as many had feared.

Of course, this balance was only achieved because the governments back then, and most certainly now, have found a way to coexist with AI, implementing laws to protect workers and reining in AI advancements by a few centuries.

The old world had failed itself in the end, the creation of absolute sentience marking its downfall, but before then, the life of the average oldworldener was more than decent.

After all, without these measures, the world might have seen a populace reduced to idle recipients of government allowances, useless bums who did nothing but waste resources.

Now, manual labor and service jobs, like cashiers, were still in demand, especially in private businesses where owners themselves or some cheap slum kid filled those roles.

Only major corporations and the UEF could afford to fully digitize and automate everything, boosting their profit margins in the long run.

As a private business closing in on becoming partially automated, at least in the main shop, Prince's Emporium still required a few 'slum kids' to move inventory around, but besides that, everything could be done on the network.

That could only be the case if the operator was competent, and Lily definitely was.

"...Let's see here."

The task list reappeared on the terminal, and with a mental command, she checked off each item, watching the boxes turn green one by one.

"We're all done here, mom."

Displaying a proud smile, Laura went behind Lily, kissing her on the cheek.

"Who's the best AI manager in the world~? You are~."

"Mooooooom~."

Ignoring her half-assed protest, she gave her another kiss.

Giggling, Lily stepped away, her eyes looking around, making sure that none of their people were there.

"Mooooom scthap, you're embarrassing me."

Laura knew this wasn't the time for jokes, but she couldn't help noticing how tense her daughter was.

No mother would willingly ignore that.

Though she didn't continue doing that for long, stopping once she noticed a small smile returning to grace Lily's face.

"Alright, alright, I've had enough."

"Hmph..."

She tried to sound annoyed but failed, unable to stop her smile from widening.

"Whatever, I'll check on the others now."

"Thank you, dear."

"Of course, Mom."

Laura took off, going back to her office upstairs while Lily dialed Mariane.

After a few rings, she accepted the call, a hologram of her face materializing above the

terminal.

Her long brown hair was bunched up into a ponytail, sweat dripping off her face.

[Hey cutie~. We're almost done, how about you?]

[Hey Auntie, we're done here, just need to take out our stuff.]

[That's great! I won't take long, just give me a few more minutes and I'll be back at the base.]

[Great, see you there.]

Lily smiled as she ended the call, and with another swipe on her terminal, she dialed Evelyn

next.

After a couple of rings, the hologram of Evelyn's face appeared above the terminal, her long black hair slightly disheveled from the hour's work.

[Lily, darling! How's everything on your end?]

Her voice was cheerful, but there was an underlying tension that matched Lily's own.

[We're all done here. Just need to take our stuff before we head out. How about you?]

Evelyn gave a small, tired smile, wiping a bit of dust from her cheek.

[Just finished up myself. Everything's locked tight, and the security systems are on full alert...

I just hope there won't be any need for them come tomorrow.]

[Same, and that's good to hear. We'll be going back home in a minute, I already talked to Auntie Mariane, and she'll be taking a bit longer, so meet her first and come by once she's

done. Is that alright?]

Lily asked while her fingers idly tapped on the terminal.

[Of course. Stay safe. I'll see you soon.]

[Same to you, Evey.]

She ended the call and immediately swiped to dial the next contact.

The hologram of Longshot' appeared, his rough scar illuminated by the bright lights in the

shop.

It seemed that he had his terminal on the shelf nearby, answering the call from afar while locking up a few chests in the storage compartment, his hands pushing the heavy steel.

[Miss Lily.]

Logan greeted with a respectful nod, his voice gruff but warm.

[Hey, Longshot. You almost done over there?]

[Yeah, just finishing up. No one's getting in here unless they've got a death wish.]

He grinned, the expression slightly softening his otherwise stern face.

[Good. Don't forget to come by before joining Jake and Emma.]

[Never. See you in a bit.]

With a final nod, the call ended, and Lily quickly dialed Jamal.

Not a ring went by and the hologram of a wide-shouldered black man appeared, his brown

eyes focused as he scoured through his workshop.

[Ay, bossman's big sis!]

Jamal greeted her with his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor.

[Hey Steel. How's everything on your end?]

[Almost done. Just taking all my expensive equipment. Wouldn't want to leave anything

behind for the vultures.]

He let out a loud laugh, his hands moving swiftly as he threw the last of his tools in a large

cart.

[Good thinking. Once you're done, you know where to go. Don't be late!]

[Ha, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Your brother will roast me alive!]

[It wouldn't make much of a difference~.]

Jamal eyes widened as he coughed hard, struggling to catch his breath due to the shock he

felt.

[...Don't tell me. Emir order you to say this?!]

Lily giggled. [Yeah, he said that you're not the only one who could make others say things.]

Shaking his head in defeat, Jamal ended the call after leaving a few words.

[Didn't think racism was infectious...]

She felt a bit more at ease after talking with him, the tension slightly winning.

He always had that effect on her and the rest of the family, Emir included. 'Whenever you've got the opportunity, have a go at Jamal. I'll show him who's the bossman.'

While dialing the last contact on her list, Lily giggled again, remembering her brother's face when he told her of this absurd request.

Raymond's hologram soon appeared, his head taking less than half the hologram as the rest

was busy displaying his long white beard.

"Hey there, kiddo."

"Hi old man. All set?" "Yep. My diagnostics were all smooth, and the security systems were fully armed. I don't envy

anyone who tries to break in here."

"Great. You should come to the base now, me and Mom will be there soon."

"Did the guys go to those love birds yet?"

"You mean the Elite Cohort? No, they'll pop by before then, so say your goodbyes there."

"You got it, miss."

With that, Lily ended the call, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Everyone was done, or at least close, and zero notable problems had shown up.

She glanced around the gallery one last time, making sure everything was as it should be,

even though she knew they were, simply paranoid.

The relics were all safely secured, and the facility was on complete lockdown.

It was time for them to leave.

Laura only took a few things from her office and they were off, a small convoy leading them

back home.

Once there, they waited downstairs and it didn't take long for the three musketeers- Longshot, Jamal, and Raymond-to arrive. Soon after them were Mariane and Evelyn.

The group exchanged quick farewells and three of the seven present headed out to join Jake and Emma, leaving behind the two Ls, Raymond, and Mariane. They watched as the three moved quickly through the deserted streets towards the slums.

When they disappeared into the distance, those who stayed entered their home, except Lily, standing near the pavement, surrounded by cruisers in black on her left and right. Her heart was heavy with the weight of what was coming.

They were tasked with one thing, to protect their business.

Emir was sure that looting would break out tomorrow, as those with nothing left to lose

would challenge the UEF's authority, using the chaos to their advantage, inevitably meeting their end at the hands of the Guard.

But till that happened, their items wouldn't return, greatly affecting their business.

Lily knew they were prepared, but the uncertainty of what lay ahead gnawed at her, the last

thing she wanted was to fail her brother like Aquila did.

"Haa... I just have to trust myself."

With a final glance at the terminal, she turned it off and headed upstairs to join her mother.

It was time to wait for what the morning would bring.