After nearly sprinting a full circle around the island, Ethan Chen finally came to a halt, panting slightly. He found a shaded, smooth stone and sat down to catch his breath.
In contrast, 2B, who had run alongside him the entire time, looked completely unfazed. Her breathing was so steady it barely even quickened certainly not more than it did when she was... under pressure.
"Huh?"
"Nothing," Ethan said, chuckling as he glanced her way. "Just surprised. You don't even seem tired. Not even a little out of breath."
"I do breathe," 2B answered with perfect seriousness. "When the body overheats, breathing rate increases to help with cooling."
"Like last night?"
"Mm." 2B nodded. The memory of their physical intimacy triggered a faint, involuntary response in her body. Her legs instinctively drew closer together.
Just simple physical contact and friction had generated consumption levels even higher than combat. It was strange very strange.
Ethan looked up at a nearby coconut tree. "Want some coconut water? I'll grab you one."
2B followed his gaze to the cluster of green fruit above. "Coconut?"
"It's a hard-shelled fruit filled with refreshing water. Helps cool you down."
As he said this, Ethan began stretching and preparing to climb.
He was confident in his coordination and strength now.
"I'll get it," 2B said before he could move. She bent her knees and jumped straight up, then used an aerial step literally stepping on air to gain height again. At the apex of her leap, she reached out and swung herself onto a curved branch, effortlessly plucking two coconuts.
Coming down was even easier. She grasped the assistant drone's twin mechanical claws and gently floated back to the ground.
"Damn, you can jump that high?"
The coconut tree wasn't exactly straight, but even so, it had to be at least seven or eight meters tall. And she'd soared up like it was nothing.
Even more impressive, her body weighed close to 300 pounds. Ethan had felt that weight personally last night he hadn't even been able to change positions unless she cooperated.
To launch that kind of mass that high off the ground... it wasn't just strength. It was near flight. A kind of shock no game's feather-light character models could prepare you for.
Just how powerful were 2B's plush, muscled legs?
"What's so surprising?" 2B asked as she landed, handing one of the coconuts to Ethan. "This seems pretty hard. How do you eat it?"
"Use a blade to cut through the husk and shell. This much should be enough."
2B nodded. With one hand she held the coconut, and with the other, she drew her sword Virtuous Contract. In a single clean motion, she sliced the coconut open without spilling a drop of juice.
"Here."
Ethan took the opened coconut and handed her the other. She gave it the same clean treatment, and the two sat side by side, drinking together.
The liquid was faintly sweet not bad, though not quite as good as wheat juice.
"2B, how high can you actually jump? Can you stay airborne indefinitely?"
Ethan remembered from the game that 2B could chain attacks midair and float indefinitely. It was utterly unscientific Newton would've spun in his grave.
But that was game logic. He wanted to know what was really possible now.
It reminded him of Geppo from the Navy's Six Styles the art of stepping through the air itself.
"Never measured it. Probably about four meters on the first jump. As for staying airborne, yeah, I think I can keep going."
"Even without the support drone?"
"Without."
As if to prove it, 2B set down her coconut and walked to the side. She bent her knees and jumped again, chaining multiple aerial steps into a graceful display. She dashed, glided, and spun through the air like a ballerina in flight, finally descending slowly by grabbing the assistant drone's claws again.
"Amazing," Ethan applauded. "You're practically flying."
"That's not much," 2B replied, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. "I may be able to stay airborne, but mobility is restricted up there. In battle, I'd be a sitting duck. Not all that useful."
"Still impressive," Ethan said, running his fingers down the smooth, toned expanse of her thigh where her stockings gave way to skin. "You can do things no normal person can."
2B let him touch her without resistance. "Like picking coconuts. Very convenient."
"Or escaping pursuit. Or charging across the ocean to an enemy ship. Most enemies here don't have flight or anti-air capabilities. Their ranged weapons are weak too."
This was the East Blue, after all the weakest of the seas. Here, Geppo-level abilities were practically divine intervention.
Ethan suddenly remembered that internet joke about a fighter jet hovering to deliver a surgical strike via special ops. In this world, it might actually work.
A sudden tingling sensation on his fingertips snapped him out of his thoughts.
He turned to find 2B had removed her visor. Her calm, quiet eyes gazed at him. And his hand was already being guided by hers, moving deeper along the curves of her thigh.
"Craving what you tasted?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing." 2B didn't explain, and Ethan didn't press. He didn't want to waste this perfect atmosphere. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her lips, still tinged with the sweetness of coconut water.
She met his kiss with eager cooperation, her tongue intertwining with his as their bodies sank onto the stone beneath them. She bent her legs and wrapped them around his waist, subtly raising her hips to help him align.
Ethan was more than pleased. To think she had learned to cooperate this well after just one night.
He didn't hold back. He poured every ounce of strength into her, claiming that fertile, inviting ground without mercy.
The sound of waves mingled with the rustling of leaves, blending into a rhythm like a tap dance in the rain-soaked soil. It was a song of motion, of wild harmony.
2B surrendered herself completely. She let Ethan push and retreat at the very core of her being, again and again.
His every motion stirred a response deep inside her. Like a virus infiltrating her code, it made her whole body burn. Her voice module began to glitch, releasing fragmented moans. Her vision module failed, her eyes rolling back as her world blurred.
Worst of all, her internal lubrication systems had gone into overdrive. The virus coursing through her body pushed her systems to the brink, turning her entire frame rigid with tension.
And in the end, her reproductive module began to activate, attempting to absorb the massive influx of genetic information more than 135,000 zettabytes, according to her logs.
Unfortunately, the module hadn't been fully initialized. Without that, it couldn't select or process the data.
In the end, it simply dissolved it into usable energy nothing more.