The locks suddenly slamming into place was cause for alarm. The obvious implementation of the Starsteel Formulization immediately afterwards made it clear what was going on. The people in charge of Bermuda really took curfew seriously, didn't they? Still, this was going to pose an immense problem for her to get her job done. There was always the option of just being out before curfew began, but if there was an option to beat this lockdown, she needed it in her back pocket.
Unfortunately, the Ministry's training for working around the Starsteel Formulization wasn't particularly helpful here. Brute force, destruction of the engine powering it, or creating a blackout didn't particularly help when it was her own dormitory.
Fortunate that Valeriya had another Technologist to consult with in here. Glancing over from her side of the room, she saw that Lucretia was still awake. So why not try to think of something? At the very least, it was an interesting thought exercise.
"Lucretia," She called out, sitting atop her bed.
"Any interest in the Starsteel Formulization? I can't say I'm going to very much enjoy being constantly locked in every night without an option to get around it."Truth to be told, due to her mental and physical exhaustion, mostly the former, Lucretia was already asleep by the time the clock were a few seconds away from striking ten o'clock. However, the unexpectedly loud chime that reached even the faux British castle of her dorm managed to disturb the German girl. To begin with, Lucy had never been a deep sleeper as it took effort to empty her mind of thoughts, there was always something to do, plants to make, projects to muse, a neverending turn of the neural industry.
"N... nnngh..." With barely-audible groans, the young girl's eyelids fluttered open, a blank look on her eyes for those precious few seconds as her mind geared back to life. This was certainly an unwelcome development, she really needed the sleep.
"...?" However, any annoyance she might have expressed took second priority to intrigued curiosity as her emerald pupils focused on the world around her, specifically the constellations of the divine formula. They had grown denser, thicker, deliberately spun to be far more convoluted than they should be. She recognized this, knew this, as any Technologist worth their craft should, let alone a prodigious genius among geniuses.
"Starsteel..." Lucretia whispered to herself before she heard her name being called, Latin words spoken with that distinct feel of Russian accent,
"Yes, Miss Zhukova?" She replied back, now seated on her bed, her pillow right behind her,
"Yes. It's a brilliant invention by the Japanese Technologist, Mr. Sukuro Jinga, that's considered a breakthrough in the field of security, specifically against Technologists." She got talking quick, now with her interest piqued.
The silver-haired girl then scooted on her bed until her bare feet touched down on the carpeted floor, she immediately made her way toward the now-locked door of their massively spacious bedroom,
"It seems to be connected to this curfew... a curious choice since Starsteel Formulization by itself isn't enough to truly secure something, you'll need sturdy material as well to prevent unauthorized actors from simply breaking in or out via... well, brute force." A proper bunker should have both thick steel doors
and Starsteel Formulas, not just either one. So... if the school administration truly intended to lock the students in after curfew, why would they not do this? Hmmm...
Arriving at the door, Lucy's eyes closely examined the altered formula there, deep in thought, her savant mind already working on the puzzle. Even if it was a 64 by 64 Rubik's Cube, could it hold out against her wits?
Valeriya joined Lucretia at the door. If the German was going to brute force the Formula, she may as well go for the mundane method. After all, someone had to take it into consideration. Had she left Lucretia to her own devices, she may as well do something idiotic like order her robot to break the door down.
"Well," She began, starting to examine the doors and windows for any hidden locks or mechanisms.
"I believe the intent is that while we could break the doors or windows down, whoever is in charge would notice the obvious damage and draw the logical conclusion. So while we could break out that way, we'd be caught instantly the next day. The Formula prevents us from simply repairing the damage the easy way. Hm..."In truth, it'd be the exact opposite, Lucy would never even think of using Schwarzritter to brute force their way through, certainly not when its mistress had this treasure trove of a puzzle to clash her mind against. Admittedly, there weren't many technologist formulizations that the German savant couldn't understand or at least figure out at a rapid pace, this was one such exceptions. Perhaps... Valeriya was projecting herself a bit too much here to have such a backwards opinion on her roommate's motivations.
"An interesting perspective..." The younger student answered, her voice almost a murmur as most of her mind was focused on untying the Gordian Knot before her,
"So it's simply a method to screen students followed the rules and those who didn't..." It was a test then, more of a mental boundary than a physical one. A worthy opponent indeed, see if she could outsmart it, see if she could prove to Mr. Sukuro that his so-called Starsteel Formula wasn't so stellar after all.
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