Effie brought the paper back closer to her chest, looking at him defensively.
"N—no?"
He looked at her in indignation.
"Wait, you didn't just go on and on singing praises to this chocolate milk of yours without planning to share it with your senior, did you?"
Effie stared at him with an open mouth for a while.
"Listen, senior. I'm a growing girl…"
Sunny almost choked.
"A growing girl? Where are you planning to grow?! If you grow any more, your head will punch through the roof!"
Effie grinned.
"What, jealous?"
Instead of answering, Sunny snatched her paper bag.
"Hey! Give it back!"
…The car swayed slightly, continuing on its way.
Soon enough, they reached the headquarters of the Valor Group. The building was hard to miss — it was almost the same height as the dormitory hives in NQSC, towering above the landscape like a glass spire. It was impossible to see it tip when standing on the ground below, no matter how much one craned their neck, and trying was enough to make one's head spin.
Effie whistled.
"You know, the Valor Group used to have its main offices in a different skyscraper, which was the tallest building in Mirage City. But then, a different conglomerate built one that was even taller. And then a third conglomerate built one even taller than that… until the Valor Group built this one, which is the current tallest."
She grinned.
"These guys really like to measure whose tower is the biggest, huh? I wonder what can be behind their obsession with tower sizes…"
Sunny stared at the glass skyscraper for a few moments.
"I'm not really interested in their tower-measuring contests. By the way… what does the Valor Group even do? I mean, what's their business?"
Effie scratched her head.
"Everything is their business. Your communicator? They made it. You PTV? They built it. Your apartment complex? They both built it and own it. Your furniture, your clothes, your food… your cops, your politicians — anything you point at in Mirage City, chances are, it exists because of the Valor Group."
Sunny remained silent for a while.
'How bizarre.'
Then, he looked at her and smiled.
"So… let's go take the CEO of the Valor Group down, shall we?"
Effie chuckled.
"I thought you'd never ask…"