27 Chapter 27: Wang Lei

"The time for dreaming is over! "Wake up!"" A roar snapped Solomon out of her sleep.

She sat up on her bed, her eyes blurry. "What the fuck?" She groaned, rubbing her eyes. "What the hell did you shout, Kanata?" She asked, still adjusting to suddenly being woken up.

"Kanata?" An unrecognizable voice asked, confusing Solomon. "I am Wang Lei, your current master."

'The fuck?' All sleep disappeared from her eyes as she turned to look at the stranger.

Standing beside her bed was a tall and slender young man, standing 188 cm tall, and pale skin and almost porcelain-like with a slightly cool undertone. His snow-white hair is long, reaching down to his shoulder blades, with an angular face, high cheekbones, and a strong jawline, and his narrow eyes are striking crimson red with a small scar on his left eyebrow. He wore a dirty brown coverall, and black boots, and black leather gloves.

'Who the fuck is this!?' Solomon jumped off the bed, almost tripping on something on the ground, only to be caught by someone who held her by her shoulders. 'Was I kidnapped!!!' She tried to shrug off the person holding her, but they weren't letting go, and their strength was miles above hers.

[Remember, sir. You now live in RoboTech.] Noah spoke, causing Solomon to recall all the events that happened yesterday.

'Well,' she thought, stopping her struggling. 'This is embarrassing.'

"Unhand her, stupid tin can." At the man's, or rather, Wang Lei's command, the person holding Solomon let go of her as she massaged her shoulders, turning around to look at the person.

It was a woman standing 168 cm in height with pale white skin, even paler than Wang Lei, with smooth and symmetrical facial features and large, almond-shaped blue eyes that gave her an innocent and inquisitive expression. Her hair is platinum blonde, styled in a straight, shoulder-length bob that frames her face.

She was dressed in a black and white maid costume, with a frilly apron, a white cap with black ribbon accents, black stockings that reached just above her knees, and shiny black Mary Jane shoes with white bows on them.

Her overall appearance retains human-like grace, but Solomon noticed mechanical qualities in the antecubital fossa of her slender arms.

'A... Robot?' She thought, her eyes widening as she inspected the mechanical woman who stared back at her emotionlessly.

"Cough!" Wang Lei purposely coughed, drawing Solomon's attention back. "I will introduce myself again. I am Wang Lei, and I am your master."

"Master?" She asked, squinting at him. 'I heard nothing about this.'

"I will be in charge of your week-long exam, young lady." He explained, his red eyes darting around her body. She wore a simple black nightgown given to her last night by the lady they met at Osaka's airport, whose name she learned was Ms. Fujimoto. "I doubt you will last longer than three days with a frail body like that."

"You will be surprised." Solomon smiled, staring into the man's eyes. "I may not be physically strong, but I am sure my intelligence would help me stay."

He scoffed. "Arrogant child."

'What?' She tilted her head. "How was that statement considered arrogant?"

Ignoring her question, he pointed to the leg area of her bed where some clothes lay. "Quickly change into that."

Solomon glanced around the room that resembled a large, communal sleeping quarter. There were twenty neatly arranged beds, each twin size and dressed in crisp white linens. The room was spacious, with high ceilings and exposed concrete walls, giving it an industrial yet refined ambiance. Large, floor-to-ceiling windows lined one side of the room that looked across the wide land of RoboTech headquarters, allowing natural light to flood the space and casting long shadows across the polished concrete floor.

Under each bed, built-in drawers provide ample storage for personal belongings. The furnishings were minimalistic, with small bedside tables accompanying each bed and sleek, wall-mounted lamps providing a soft, warm glow.

This is the room Tobi and his twenty-six other team members sleep in. Ms. Fujimoto says they had the chance to get separate rooms. However, Tobi wanted one room because he believed that sharing a single room would foster unity and camaraderie among his team members. By living in close quarters, they would have ample opportunities to bond and learn from one another during their waking hours and even as they sleep.

Returning to her senses, Solomon picked up the clothes, feeling Wang Lei's gaze on her. "Is this our uniform?" She asked, holding up the brown coverall.

"Uniform?" Wang Lei asked, squinting his eyes at Solomon. "What?"

"Well, I noticed two other guys wearing it when I toured the workshop yesterday." She explained, looking at the black boot beside her bed.

"Are you this stupid?" Wang Lei asked, his tone harsh. "Coveralls are practical for the kind of work we'll do here. They provide full-body coverage, preventing skin exposure to harmful substances or sharp edges. That's why we wear them."

'That makes sense...' Solomon cleared her throat. "Is there a bathroom to change?

"That will waste my time." Wang Lei said, walking to what she assumed was his bed. "Do it here. What do you have that I haven't seen a thousand times?"

"Alright." Solomon shrugged as she immediately undressed while Wang Lei returned with a large, gray tactical backpack.

"In this bag, you will find underwear, clothes, and your intern-level work ID." He explained as he walked to his bed. "Always keep the ID on you. You can be ordered to show your ID at any random point, and if you can't..." He trailed off, leaving the rest to her imagination.

"Thank you for the warning." Solomon replied as she quickly finished changing into the coverall, tugging at the slightly oversized material as she adjusted the fit. She glanced at the backpack Wang Lei had given her and rifled through its contents, pulling out the intern-level work ID and clipping it onto her chest pocket.

"Okay, I'm ready." She announced, standing up straight and looking at Wang Lei pouring some tic tac directly into his mouth. "What's next?"

He raised one finger to silence her as he chewed on the candy before swallowing it. With that out of the way, he answered:

"Inside your bag, you will find a mouthwash named Listerine Pro." He placed the tic tac box in his coverall pocket as Solomon searched her bag for Listerine Pro. "Take some and swish it, then go to the bathroom to spit it out. Believe me or not, this mouthwash is better than actual brushing."

"Alright." She nodded as she brought out the large Listerine bottle.

Using the cap as a cup, she poured a small amount of mouthwash and brought it to her lips. Tilting her head back, she swished the liquid around her mouth vigorously, feeling the minty freshness spread through her mouth.

"Follow me." Wang Lei said while walking towards the sleeping quarter door with his arm folded behind his back. She followed him out of the room and into the hallway. "The bathroom is over there." He said, pointing at a door across from them.

Solomon nodded, heading to the bathroom as she swished the mouthwash. Upon reaching the bathroom, she spat the mouthwash into the sink, rinsing her mouth with water before patting her face dry with a paper towel.

She then glanced at her appearance, her amethyst eyes now brown due to the contact she got with Akime yesterday. 'She says as long as I take it out for a few minutes a day, I should be fine.' She thought as she left the bathroom. 'I hope she is right and nothing will happen to my eyes.'

"I hope you aren't hungry because you slept through breakfast." Wang Lei said as he continued walking down the hallway, heading to the double door at the end. "You aren't, right?"

"I ate a lot last night in the dining hall when Ms. Fujimoto showed me around the tower." She nodded, recalling how delicious the dining hall food was. They were on par with Hikari Heights hotel food. No. The food here was even better.

"Alright then." He nodded. "For the week, you will work under me. I will test you and see if you are worthy to stay in Master Allard's presence." He glanced back at Solomon walking behind him, her hands in her coverall's pocket.

"Though, from my first impression, you won't last long." He returned his attention up front as he continued. "But, to be recommended by Mistress Monoma herself, I doubt you are something to scoff at."

'I will guess Master Allard is Tobi.' Solomon nodded but stopped herself from voicing her remark. "So, what should I be doing?"

"I am currently working on a project." He said, pushing open the double door and entering Noah's massive workshop. "It is a robot that would revolutionize the police force. I am sure it would fix the sinking ship that is this company."

'Already sounds interesting!' Solomon grinned. "How can I help you?"

Wang Lei glanced back at her, staring at Solomon with sparkling eyes in silence. "What can you do?"

"I can code." She replied, quickly elaborating when she noticed Wang Lei's unimpressed expression. "I can code in Java, JavaScript, Python, C, C++, many other languages, and most importantly, Shadowrun." She finished, expecting a reaction but getting none.

"Really?" Wang Lei asked, leading her through the maze-like workshop. "And how do you learn all this?"

'Right. I am supposed to be a street girl.' Solomon thought as she quickly made up a fake story. "I got interested in coding after I saw it on the laptop I stole from who I assume was a web developer. I learned all those languages in only a few days." She lied to boost her worth.

"And what experience do you have?" Wang Lei asked as he reached his quarter of the workshop. It was stopped in front of a large workstation covered in an assortment of tools, wires, and electronic components.

"Well, I've worked on several small projects, mostly for myself or people I know," Solomon replied, trying to maintain her cover as a street-smart prodigy. "I've built some simple robots, hacked into various systems, and even created some custom software applications."

"Interesting." Wang Lei nodded. "That's worse than I thought."

'Not enough?' Solomon smiled at the challenge and added. "I have also built a laptop from the scraps I found in the Takoba Municipal Beach Park landfill. It worked perfectly fine too."

"And?"

"I have built an AI?"

"For what?"

"To give the user similar music based on their listening history, likes, and replays."

Wang Lei finally stopped asking questions as he stared silently at Solomon. "You should have pitched that idea to a music streaming service company like EchoTunes." He paused. "I am sure you would have left the streets."

Solomon squinted at Wang Lei, confused. "It's not as easy as you say."

"Oh, really?" He turned around and walked to a blanket thrown on the ground and kicked it away, revealing a secret door. "Tin Can, open this." He said, but no one responded.

"If you are looking for your robot," Solomon pointed behind her. "She remained in the room after we left."

Wang Lei seemed to have finally realized that 'Tin Can' wasn't following them, causing him to let out an exasperated sigh. "I need to fix her. This is annoying."

Solomon was about to ask what was wrong and if she could help, but Noah instructed her to wait till she gained more of Wang Lei's trust, so she did.

Wang Lei, on the other hand, reached into his coverall pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie. Clicking it on, he roared. "Tin Can. Get over to my station this instant!" With that, he turned it off and turned back to Solomon, speaking in his normal, chill tone. "As I said, once Tin Can opens this door, you will see the project I have been working on."

They stood in silence, with Solomon glancing around the work area as they waited. Within a few moments, the soft sound of footsteps approached, and the robot maid slowly walked towards them, her arm stiff by her side.

"She can't even walk properly anymore." Wang Lei sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I wasted more than seven hundred million dollars on this."

'Seven hundred million?' Solomon thought, glancing at 'Tin Can,' who walked to stand beside Wang Lei. 'That would be around three hundred fifty-five million dollars on earth. Expensive.' From her estimation, Noah cost less than fifty million dollars to build. 'But it makes sense since he is only an AI. This is a whole robot.'

She inspected the robot, surprised at the high level of detail in its appearance, including human-like skin, hair, and clothing. If it covered all its joints, it would be literally impossible to tell it was a robot. People would think it was a stupid person.

It was a truly marvelous creation.

She glanced at Wang Lei, who told Tin Can to open the secret door. 'If he says this is worthless, I really wonder what is down there.' Her curiosity and interest skyrocketed.

Tin Can bent down and held the handle with both of her hands, using all her might to try to pull it open but failing. Wang Lei sighed, rubbing his eyebrows. "From your position, you need to push, not pull, to open the door."

With this instruction, TIn Can changed her position and tried to push it open. "Now, you are supposed to pull." Solomon chimed in.

Tin Can didn't respond and kept trying to push the door open. "What the girl said, Tin Can." Wang Lei spoke. "Your incompetence truly knows no bounds."

Tin Can changed her position back to her original position and tried to pull again.

'Stupid...' Solomon stared wide eyed at the robot, all his original admiration for it disappearing. 'It seems like he spent most of the money on her appearance and not her brain.'

"May the heavens strike me down if I speak false." Wang Lei roared, "Your incompetence knows no bounds!"

He walked over to her and tried to shove her, but she didn't even budge. Seeing this, he growled. "Move." and she did. He held the handle and said. "Get in this position, and PULL!" He shouted. "ALRIGHT!?"

Tin Can didn't respond, but it was taken as a yes as he moved, allowing her to do what he did, and Finally, the door moved. She slowly pulled it open as the door let out a loud, creaking noise, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness. The air that wafted up from below was cool and musty, hinting at a large, underground space hidden from view.

"Aren't we on a high floor in the Tower?" Solomon asked, looking down at the stairs. "Where does this lead to?"

"The space in between our floor and the floor below." He explained, gesturing for Solomon to follow as he began descending the stairs, the robot maid following close behind, her movements stiff and awkward. "This is where I've been working on the project that will change everything."

'This is getting more interesting.' Solomon thought as the dim overhead lights flickered on while they made their way further down, illuminating a sprawling laboratory.

The sheer scale of the lab was astounding, but nothing compared to the actual one above, with workstations cluttered with components and tools, half-built robots in various stages of completion, multiple electronics, and walls lined with monitors displaying complex data and schematics.

Solomon was led to a large, central workstation where a sleek, humanoid robot was suspended from the ceiling by a series of cables and wires. This 7-foot-tall humanoid robot featured a slender, feminine build, and its body was constructed from shining metal, which gave it a sleek, polished metallic skin complexion with a platinum-like color.

The delicate face had a sculpted design with high cheekbones, a slightly upturned nose, and a gentle curve to its lips. Its eyes were closed while its flowing silver hair cascaded down to its waist, lending an ethereal quality to its appearance.

Seemingly crafted from the same shining metal as its body, the robot's platinum armor was an integral part of its structure and could not be removed. This elegant, lightweight, and form-fitting armor is seamlessly blended with the metallic frame. It protects key areas of the robot's body, including the chest, shoulders, upper arms, thighs, and shins, while leaving its joints and other parts free for unhindered movement.

"Unbelievable..." Solomon couldn't help but mumble as she stared up at the robot.

"I know." Wang Lei replied, nodding. "It took me seven years to get it to this point, and it is still more useless than Tin Can over there." He said, gesturing to Tin Can, who stood silently at the bottom of the stairs.

Solomon glanced at Tin Can before returning her attention back to the seven-foot robot. "What do you mean?"

"It is just a massive lump of metal, wires, and whatnot." He growled, walking to a computer and sitting down on the office chair. "Its body was built by the combined effort of Master Allard, Senior Brother Giovanni, Senior Brother Javier, Junior Brother Yuri, and I. But after that, they left it to me to complete because they were occupied with coming up with various new projects and products every month in order to slow down RoboTec's ever-falling stocks."

"And you can't do it?" Solomon asked, peeking at what he was doing on the computer. He seemed to be... 'What the fuck is that?' She screamed internally as she stepped back. "What are you doing!?" She asked.

"What does it look like I am doing?" Wang Lei asked, glaring at her. "Creating its brain."

'You are doing it wrong!!!' Solomon shouted internally, watching the monstrosity on the computer screen. Due to his sealed memories and knowledge, he didn't know exactly what was wrong, but he knew it was.

Solomon hesitated, trying to find a polite way to address the issue. "What is your degree?"

"Ph.D. in Robotics and a master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering." He replied with a shrug. "Nothing special."

'That's why.' She decided to keep her mouth shut for now. Best not to get on his bad side by being a smart ass.

"To your first question, no, I can't do it myself." He admitted, shrugging. "The main issue is its AI. I've spent months trying to develop an artificial intelligence system that can fully utilize the robot's capabilities, but I just can't seem to get it right. Either it becomes unstable, or it simply doesn't function the way it should."

He turned to her. "That's why Master Allard asked me to be your mentor. He wants you to look at the code."

Solomon froze. "He wants... me?" She didn't understand. 'Wasn't he trying to throw me away earlier? Is this a test?' She thought as she asked. "What makes you think I can understand something you can't? I am not yet that experienced and self-taught."

"I don't think you will get it either." Wang Lei shrugged. "But Mistress Monoma herself recommended you to join the team, so you should hide some heaven-shattering talent or knowledge." His crimson-red eyes locked with her brown eyes hidden behind her bangs. "If not, why would she fight tooth and nail for you?"

'So, a test.' She thought, nodding. "I will try my best, but no promises."

"Go right ahead." He stood up from his chair, moving out of the way. "I hope you won't bring Mistress Monoma's name to shame."

'I won't put the name of Mistress Monoma to shame.' Solomon chuckled internally as she sat down. She turned to the computer screen and did the best she could to find out what was wrong. 'Noah, what's wrong?'

[From only the code visible on the screen, sir, there are 'shit tons' of issues with the underlying algorithms and their implementation. In addition, there are some compatibility issues between different sections of the code. The core AI structure also seems fragmented, making it difficult for the robot to operate as a cohesive unit.]

'Can I fix it?' She asked, glancing at another screen that displayed the graphs on how the model for Wang Lei's AI is performing over time, and she could understand... less than 20% of it. 'Never mind my question. My knowledge and memories are too limited to work on this AI.'

[That's correct, sir. I, on the other hand, can fix it all in a few hours.]

'Well, I can't let you do that.' Solomon shook her head. 'That would be too suspicious.'

[Of course, sir. I could---]

"What have you found out?" Wang Lei asked, interrupting Noah. "Or do you still need more time?"

[Tell him this...]

She cleared her throat, moving to the screens that displayed graphs, charts, codes, and everything else about the AI's learning model. "Everything is fine, including the code, but you had tried to create a highly adaptable AI, and the resulting code made the robot too unstable."

She glanced back at him to see his expression, but he remained as stoic as ever, his eyes locked on her. "So? Explain what you mean."

"Ok." She nodded. "Imagine a baby learning to build a tower with blocks. An adult helps them, showing them how to stack the blocks carefully one on top of the other. This is like a robot learning in a controlled way." She paused.

"But you wanted the robot to learn even faster and adapt to many things without help. In the end, it's like letting the baby stack blocks in any way they want, hoping they'll figure out how to make tall towers quickly.

"The problem is, when the baby stacks the blocks too fast and without guidance, the towers fall over. This is similar to the robot becoming unstable because it's trying to learn too much too quickly without help." She nodded. 'This makes sense. Now I actually see the problems with the code.'

"Ah..." Wang Lei also understood as his eyes widened. "The heavens... The heavens have enlightened me." He rushed to the screen, carelessly shoving Solomon out of the way.

He stared at the screen for a few seconds before screeching and jumping back. "Oh, Heavens! What the fuck am I looking at?" He roared, his eyes widening in horror.

'Right?' Solomon thought, not bothered by his push. 'It is truly beautiful yet a horrible code. Fast, yet inefficient.'

"This is why Tin Can is stupid." He mumbled in realization, glancing at Tin Can, still standing at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, Heavens. My failure is absolute, and my worthlessness complete."

'...That's the first I have heard of that.' Solomon thought, truly impressed. "So... Am I good---"

Wang Lei ignored her as he dropped to his knees. "I am an utter disgrace to your ancestors."

She cleared her throat, trying to get his attention, but he continued.

"I have proven myself to be utterly without merit! My existence is pointless, and my efforts meaningless! I have disgraced myself beyond redemption!" He cried, tears flowing down his cheeks, and he punched the floor. "I am nothing but a useless waste of space!"

'...Okay. I will let you drown in self-doubt.' Solomon thought as she looked back at the robot hanging in the middle of the room. 'Heavenly Sword, huh? I wonder what your purpose is. With that name, it should be something... Heavenly.'

[That was 'cringe,' sir.]

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Author's Note

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I should specify. This is an AU, because I want to fix some flaws in MHA quirk thingy. Here gose my rant. There is a TL;DR at the bottom if you want to skip the 310+ word rant.

1). Influence on jobs: In My Hero Academia, people with quirks primarily focus on becoming heroes, villains, or working in related occupations. This might limit the development of other job sectors and industries, as a significant portion of the population focuses on using their quirks for fighting or rescue missions.

THIS IS FUCKING UNRELISTIC! I mean, if I gain a quirk like Nezu, you think I will try to be a principal? You think any non-NPC would want to rid the world of quirk with a quirk like Overhaul!? I mean, the fuck? You think someone with a quirk like Creation won't get enslaved by the government and get used to create nukes? I know it is an anime for 'children', but damn. So many lost potential.

In the Marvel and DC universes, mutants and metahumans have a broader range of occupations, using their abilities to contribute to society in many different ways. <- I am trying to do this.

2).Technological advancement: One might expect that in the My Hero Academia universe, people with intelligence-based quirks would lead to rapid technological advancements. However, we don't see technology much more advanced than our Earth because everyone want to use their quirks for heroic purposes, which limited the overall investment in advancing technology.

In Marvel and DC, characters with superior intelligence, such as Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, contribute significantly to technological advancements. <- I am trying to do this.

3. Space exploration: Despite the prevalence of intelligence-based quirks in the My Hero Academia universe, there seems to be little focus on space exploration. Again, this is due to the societal emphasis on heroics and crime-fighting, rather than exploration and research.

In contrast, the Marvel and DC universes feature space exploration and interaction with extraterrestrial beings, making their universes more diverse in terms of scope. <- I don't think I am good at writing enough to do this. Just pointing it out.

TL;DR

My Hero Academia universe seems to focus more on the use of quirks for heroics, which limited the development of other industries. In comparison, Marvel and DC have a more diverse portrayal of how individuals with special abilities integrate into society, leading to advancements in various fields, such technology and space exploration.

In this fanfic, I will focus little on the Hero-Villain dynamic of MHA and more on other shit. But, fret not, my fellow readers. I will make the Protagonist interact with canon character. This is, afterall, a fanfic. Not an original.

I should probably add the last two paragraph to the synopsis.