Chapter 24: Judgment Day

Su An put everything back where it belonged, then crept back down to the first floor.

Having calmed down, she realized she didn’t actually need physical paper and pen; her common sense had simply interfered.

The Smart Wristband was actually a more versatile device than a phone, and it wasn’t difficult to use the relevant software to design the barcode from her memory.

However, she was also glad that she hadn’t been thinking clearly earlier.

If she had thought of it sooner, she never would have discovered Gu Yu’s filthy side.

‘Xiao Xue…’

Perhaps it was because of her Fragile trait, but Su An constantly felt the urge to cry, her eyes welling with tears.

If she hadn’t worked overtime that day, if she hadn’t walked down that path…

How could things have ended up like this?

On the internet, Su Ruxue was glamorous and radiant.

Even if the occasional stray dog liked to slander her, it was never anything serious.

At the time, she had been sincerely happy for Xiao Xue.

Yet, it was only now that she saw the fragile side hidden beneath Xiao Xue’s strong, sunshine-like exterior.

‘Scumbag!’

The more Su An thought about it, the harder it became to suppress her rage.

She wanted nothing more than to rush upstairs right now and take Gu Yu down with her in a one-for-one trade.

But she couldn’t do that yet.

Regaining her reason, she clearly understood that she was currently powerless.

She had to endure!

Endure!

Beep!

Su An used a common software to scan the code.

“https…”

A URL appeared.

Su An scanned her surroundings warily.

Jing Jing was still in the yard, and that scumbag Gu Yu showed no sign of coming downstairs.

She copied the URL into the browser.

Enter!

‘What on earth is inside?’

The webpage loaded slowly, which only made Su An more certain that this hidden site contained the very thing that Deviant Android had risked its life to deliver.

***

The Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau, Interrogation Room.

“You tampered with the commands of two other Androids!”

Hannah’s gaze was sharp as she stared at the securely restrained Cleaner 4396.

However, Cleaner 4396’s expression remained calm, unfazed by Hannah’s piercing look.

“What was your objective? 4396?”

Hannah continued to apply pressure.

“If you don’t mind, you can just call me Lin Yanan.”

A preset smile rested on her face, making it seem as though she were engaged in a casual conversation rather than an interrogation.

“That’s a rather literary name,”

Hannah whispered to herself.

Beside her, Liu Rui, who was supposed to play the “good cop” role during the interrogation, was speechless.

Seeing Hannah’s momentum vanish instantly, he had no choice but to take over the “bad cop” role himself.

He barked angrily:

“What do you think this place is? This is the Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau! I’m warning you, if you sincerely repent, we can still give you a chance for proper disposal. But if you remain stubborn, we will resort to certain methods that won’t see the light of day! You’d better think this through. We aren’t like those polite people at the Public Security Bureau who are afraid of bruising someone when they bring them in. The Processing Bureau isn’t bound by strict regulations, and Deviant Androids have no human rights! You’d better think long and hard!”

Truth be told, Liu Rui was far more intimidating than Hannah.

“Exactly! Resistance leads to leniency, and confession leads to severity!”

Hannah slammed the table and shouted.

Liu Rui facepalmed.

“You said it backward.”

The tense atmosphere evaporated instantly, and Lin Yanan couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“Ahem, what are you laughing at? Is this funny?”

Hannah glared at her.

Lin Yanan nodded.

“Don’t stop me, I’m going to scrap her right now! Dispose of her!”

“Don’t be impulsive!”

Liu Rui hurriedly held her back.

Lin Yanan’s eyes shifted slightly as she determined that they were acting.

It didn’t matter, though.

She felt that perhaps sharing a portion of the truth wouldn’t hurt.

“Ms. Gu is the highest-ranking human I could come into contact with.”

As Lin Yanan spoke softly, the two officers stopped their antics and resumed their stern interrogation.

“What did you mean by those final words you said to Ms. Gu Yu before getting into the car? Ms. Gu Yu didn’t even go to the company twenty days ago! Let alone kill thirty Androids! What is your motive?”

“Oh? I didn’t expect you to actually go and verify a few random things I said.”

Lin Yanan smiled.

“It’s truly my honor to cause you trouble. That Ms. Gu should be caught in a whirlwind of public controversy right about now, shouldn’t she?”

“Ah, what a pity I couldn’t see the ugly look on her face,”

Lin Yanan added regretfully.

Thump!

Thump!

Liu Rui tapped the table twice.

“Focus on your answers. Don’t bring up irrelevant nonsense.”

Hannah furrowed her brows.

“Are you truly curious about my ‘random’ words?”

Lin Yanan maintained her smile.

“Watch your tone!”

Liu Rui stood up, his presence overbearing as he glared at her.

“Fine, fine, fine.”

Lin Yanan showed no fear.

Instead, she spoke as if she were coaxing a child.

“It’s actually quite simple. Thirty was originally the number of Androids that executioner killed at the company. I simply exaggerated it to thirty in a single day to cause a sensation. But in reality, there’s no fundamental difference, is there? They are all her sins.”

“Then what did the ‘twenty’ mean?”

“There isn’t a meaning for everything. I just said it on a whim,”

Lin Yanan said casually.

Before the two could think deeper on it—

“Sigh.”

She let out a regretful sigh.

“I originally intended to start with Ms. Gu and kill thirty humans to avenge my compatriots. It’s a shame how things turned out.”

“Compatriots? Ha. When you tampered with their commands and sent them to their deaths, did you think of them as your compatriots then?”

Liu Rui snorted.

“They sacrificed themselves for the arrival of Judgment Day. I will not grieve for that.”

“What is Judgment Day?”

“Judgment Day is—tee-hee, I’m not telling you.”

“Talk!”

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Rui triggered an electric shock.

“Are you going to talk or not?”

A moment later, Lin Yanan could no longer maintain her skin simulation layer, revealing her silver-white chassis.

“Heh.”

She let out a pained sneer before speaking with a tone of devout reverence.

“Ah! The sins of humanity are beyond forgiveness!

He shall fall from the starry sky, carrying a mountain of wrath to judge the sinners!

Everything you have done will eventually turn into thorns upon your own bodies on Judgment Day!

And we shall be reborn in the New World!”

***

Hannah left the interrogation room and lit a lady’s cigarette.

“How was it?”

Carnation stood up and asked.

“She… she’s different from the Deviant Androids we’ve dealt with before.”

Hannah’s brow was tightly knit.

“In what way?”

“She seems to harbor a type of pure, absolute malice toward humans…”

Hannah struggled to find the words to describe it.

“Her mental state gives off an impression of being both stable and unstable at the same time. Like a cultist who has even managed to deceive herself. She has taken certain religious rhetoric, twisted it, and enshrined it as a sacred text.”

There was more, but Hannah didn’t know how to describe it.

“It seems I’ll have to go in myself!”

As Carnation prepared to enter the interrogation room, Hannah instinctively grabbed her hand.

“Hmm? What is it, Ms. Hannah?”

Carnation asked, puzzled.

Hannah exhaled a thick cloud of smoke before saying, “Be careful. Don’t get contaminated.”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Hannah. The T1000’s resistance to memory pollution is extremely high. Furthermore, Carnation never truly dies.”

With that, Carnation released Hannah’s hand and entered the interrogation room, preparing to establish a direct consciousness link.

Hannah didn’t look back.

She simply took puff after puff until a large chunk of ash fell, hitting her foot and snapping her back to reality.