The recruitment of Yuuki Asuna was just one example.
In fact, the player records from SAO had already been imported into the Foundation's system.
From these players, the Foundation carefully screened a selection of suitable candidates.
Once identified, they were introduced to the concept of "anomalies" through seemingly accidental encounters.
While observing their reactions, the Foundation also attempted to invite these individuals to join.
Because this had been planned long in advance, its implementation proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Even specialized equipment for the new Mobile Task Force had already been developed.
It was a new type of implantable armor.
This armor directly integrated with the human skeleton, muscles, and outer skin. It was a breakthrough version of Black Ball technology.
However, it was far more powerful than Black Ball's skin-tight suits.
By stimulating nerves to strengthen bone endurance and muscle density, and forming a special protective liquid layer on the skin's surface, it followed a similar principle as the Black Ball suit.
In doing so, users gained incredible strength, endurance, and mobility.
And unlike the Black Ball suit, it wouldn't suffer liquid leakage and failure after a certain threshold of damage.
It could even automatically correct bone fractures and repair cells when injuries occurred.
It was vastly superior to the Black Ball suit.
This implantable armor series was named Venom-1.
Additionally, it came with specialized sword-type weapons.
Perhaps due to their recent departure from SAO and the lingering sense of detachment from their real bodies, the Foundation's recruitment plan was incredibly successful.
As long as the recruits were shown the implantable armor and allowed to test it, over 95% agreed to join.
Thus, Mobile Task Force – Sword Art Online was quickly formed.
With systematic training, they would soon be fully operational.
At this moment, on the fourth floor of the Chiba Library—
In a secluded corner among the bookshelves:
"Uwah…"
Inside the transparent crystal, Yui covered her eyes.
But her fingers parted slightly, and she peeked intently through the gaps at the scene outside.
She couldn't help letting out a small gasp.
At the same time, Haruto and Yuuki Asuna finally separated.
Asuna's entire face was flushed bright red.
In truth, Asuna usually had strong resistance when it came to matters of romance. She wouldn't easily get flustered or blush like a little girl. But when it came to Haruto, she simply couldn't resist.
This guy always managed to catch her off guard.
Just when the mood had been perfect earlier, he suddenly started talking serious business. She thought she had misunderstood him and reflected on it...
Then he suddenly did that again!
And Yui was right there watching, too!
Seeing Asuna's slightly dazed and shy appearance, Haruto couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Asuna was just too cute!
After a moment, Asuna let out a soft hum of protest. She ignored Haruto and went over to chat with Yui instead.
Just then, Haruto's phone buzzed twice.
Taking a look, he saw messages from Shouko Komi and Hitori Gotou.
The two had posted some vague messages in their group chat. They were basically asking where Haruto was. Though their wording was very roundabout, Haruto knew exactly what these two socially anxious girls were thinking.
Most likely, they had already selected their books.
But once they sat together, the awkwardness set in again.
After waiting for a while without seeing Haruto return, the atmosphere grew more and more uncomfortable.
So, they reached out to him for help.
But they didn't want to pressure him — that would feel too impolite, something social anxiety wouldn't allow them to say directly.
Thus, they could only gently inquire about his location.
That said, Haruto really had been away for quite a while.
He had spent a lot of time inviting Asuna and explaining about the Foundation.
Long enough that even these two socially anxious girls had mustered the courage to speak up in the group chat.
At this point, Asuna suddenly leaned in.
Since Haruto's phone had buzzed, it meant a message had arrived.
And when she saw the faint smile on his face while reading, she became curious—and a little jealous.
Could it be that, right after doing something like that with her, he was already happily chatting with someone else?
Even if he was a playboy, he should at least be considerate of a girl's feelings!
However, Asuna had expected Haruto to either move his phone away or turn off the screen.
Unexpectedly, he openly showed her the phone screen.
Seeing the messages, Asuna was completely puzzled.
What kind of communication style is this? Why does every message come with two sentences of explanation, three apologies, and five emojis? Could this be some kind of secret code? I don't get it, I really don't get it!
While Asuna was trying to mentally decode the messages like a puzzle—
Yui helpfully explained everything.
After all, she had been watching everything from the elevator incident. And as a super-intelligent AI lifeform, Yui's comprehension far exceeded that of normal people. Naturally, she had already identified the problem:
Komi and Bocchi were both extreme introverts.
Combining the information she had, Yui quickly deduced the correct conclusion.
After hearing Yui's explanation, Asuna was momentarily speechless.
Are there really people in this world who are that socially anxious?
But after glancing once more at Haruto's messages—
Hmm… it actually makes sense?
Just like that, Asuna's annoyance dissipated.
Even though he was chatting with other girls, it didn't feel like the typical playboy behavior she had imagined.
The vibes were completely different!
At this moment, Haruto spoke up on his own:
"I ran into two friends on the way here. Want to sit down and chat with them?"
Asuna nodded.
She needed to assert her claim... uh, she meant she wanted to meet Haruto's friends.
So, the two of them walked to the agreed spot.
When they arrived—
Asuna saw:
A long reading table.
A black-haired beauty and a pink-haired loli.
Two lovely girls sitting on opposite ends of the table. With about seven or eight empty seats separating them.
A perfect display of distance creates beauty.
If she hadn't already heard Yui explain the situation, Asuna would've thought these two didn't know each other at all—or worse, that they were mortal enemies.
Haruto twitched the corner of his mouth.
He walked over, poked Bocchi, and waved at Komi.
Successfully gathering the two together.
Now all four sat side by side.
Seeing Haruto return, both girls clearly sighed in relief. But upon noticing Asuna, they instantly tensed up again.
Another stunning beauty!
I heard beautiful girls are usually mean…
The two thought in unison.
Completely unaware that they themselves were among the "beautiful girls."
Fortunately, Asuna gently broke the ice first. After all, she was sunny, warm, and extremely understanding.
Plus, she already knew about their social anxiety issues.
In no time at all, Asuna became the second extroverted friend—after Haruto—to adopt these two anxious cuties.
Bocchi and Komi, in turn, were overjoyed to have made another friend.
The mood was excellent.
Haruto, on the other hand, hardly had a chance to speak.
But that was fine.
He simply rested his chin on his hand, quietly watching the three beautiful girls chat.
It was very amusing—and very pleasing to the eye.
If Miku saw this, wouldn't she instantly have a massive S-attribute outburst?
At that very moment—
Inside a Foundation site where she was receiving psychological counseling, Miku sneezed.
"Could someone be thinking of me? It must be my beloved Yuriko-sama! Hehehe, my dear Yuriko-sama!"
Dr. Seju, responsible for this spirit interaction and psychological counseling experiment, expressionlessly jotted a note in the test data remarks:
"Target spirit 'Songstress' appears to exhibit signs of abnormal hysteria and displays obsessive behavior. Recommend light tickling interaction therapy to purify the spirit."