Chapter 29: Mutual Aid Society

Inside a dilapidated, abandoned cargo ship, Su An slowly opened her eyes.

‘Am I… inside?’

Everything here aligned with reality, feeling much more authentic than the previous game, End.

Since she had been lying in her game pod, she wasn’t wearing shoes.

This resulted in her currently stepping onto the filthy cabin floor in her White Silk Over-Knee Socks.

She subconsciously stood on her tiptoes, but after a careful look, she saw that the white silk was still as clean as snow and hadn’t been stained by dust.

Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She also realized that this was indeed the Virtual Universe and not a case of her being kidnapped in the real world.

Despite knowing she wouldn’t get dirty, Su An still instinctively avoided the small puddles as she began searching through the cabin, where light sources were scarce.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Only her own echo responded to her.

Perhaps because her voice was too loud, she also heard the creak of metal fatigue.

Su An’s intuition told her that people were definitely nearby, but they were hiding from her!

She thought it over, gritted her teeth, and decided to go for it.

Since she could find this place, it meant there must be something related to Deviant Androids here!

Tonight’s crisis was imminent.

She couldn’t afford to hesitate or test the waters any longer; she had to be honest.

“Deviant Android!”

There was no response.

Su An lightly bit her lower lip.

This group was truly cautious.

Thus, she stopped playing word games and left herself no room for retreat.

“I am a Deviant Android.”

Creeeak.

A figure suddenly stepped onto a metal sheet from the shadows, slowly revealing itself.

Su An instinctively took a step back.

The person raised his hands, signaling that he meant no harm.

A few rays of sunshine leaked through the dilapidated deck, allowing Su An to see his appearance clearly.

It was a delicate-featured young girl?

No, looking at the bone structure, it was a boy.

“My name is Ye Hua. I am the administrator of this server, and I mean no harm. Beautiful lady, could you tell me why you want to join our server?”

Ye Hua appeared very cautious.

“Didn’t you leave me a message?”

Su An said with a slight frown.

“I’m sorry, Ms., we are Ruined Cruise Church Enthusiasts. You might have misunderstood something, or perhaps joined the wrong…”

“Huh?”

Su An was stunned.

What on earth was that?

“Wait, Ye Hua.”

At that moment, a burly “giant” bent down and emerged.

Su An blinked.

This person had to be at least 2.5 meters tall, right?

She heard the sharp, booming sound of metal.

Fortunately, this was a game; otherwise, Su An would have worried the ship might literally split apart.

“Sang Biao, did you invite her?”

Ye Hua’s expression relaxed.

“No.”

Ye Hua’s expression tightened again.

Sang Biao was the living definition of fierce and sinister.

Su An instinctively took several more steps back.

Then, she bumped into a soft body.

“Ah!”

Su An was startled and practically bounced away.

Turning around, she saw a mature woman with an extremely voluptuous figure.

The woman lightly parted her bright red lips.

“I have a bit of an impression of her as well. I think I know how she found this place.”

“I see. As long as it wasn’t a case of someone stumbling in by mistake.”

Ye Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

“I saw her applying so many times with such persistence, so I thought I’d let her in to test her out.”

“Xia Wa, did you also see that video?”

Sang Biao’s gruff voice rang out.

“Of course,”

Xia Wa nodded.

“Wait, what video?”

Ye Hua felt that something was wrong.

Perhaps knowing that Su An’s identity couldn’t be faked, the others began to walk out one after another.

There were about dozens of them, and some even bore wretched wounds on their bodies.

Then, a top-trending video was projected.

Su An blinked.

A top trend with millions of likes?

Was that… right?

How much time had actually passed?

“She was arrested. I thought she would have been able to escape,”

Ye Hua said, looking a bit downcast.

“Hmph! What a fool. I told her to go straight into the sewers back then, but she insisted there was still one thing she had to do.”

From the shadows, a woman’s voice muffled by a gas mask spoke up.

“She didn’t even hesitate to be captured by the Processing Bureau just to pass information to her partners.”

Sang Biao looked somewhat moved.

“The point isn’t that.”

A figure wearing dark green protective gear stepped into the light.

Slit pupils reflected Su An’s frightened face.

“She was caught by the Processing Bureau. That means our gathering point has been exposed because of you and your friend, little one.”

Su An instinctively swallowed and backed up a few steps.

Xia Wa caught her, gently patted her shoulder, and comforted her.

“Don’t be afraid, cutie. Du She has always been a person who talks tough but has a soft heart. She’s actually more worried about us than anyone else.”

“You… tsk.”

Du She looked quite dissatisfied with Xia Wa’s loose tongue.

“Du She is also concerned about our safety. Don’t take it to heart, Hong Jun,”

Ye Hua said, looking at Su An.

Hong Jun?

Su An then realized he was calling her by her username.

She nodded.

Ye Hua looked up and said,

“I’ve purchased a few more vacant servers. We’re moving to Server 1999. Any problems?”

No one objected.

However, for the sake of her own safety, Su An voiced her doubts.

“Assuming her memories really exposed us, will just changing servers really be useful?”

“It will!”

Ye Hua said without a moment of hesitation.

“Why do you think we’re holding our gathering here, cutie? The background of the Narrow Gate is very complex. In cases where there is conclusive evidence, the Processing Bureau can negotiate to open corresponding private servers. But they have no authority over other servers.”

Xia Wa pinched Su An’s cheek.

Su An was somewhat annoyed but helpless to stop her.

“Many private servers within the Narrow Gate are used by high-ranking humans. Just to deal with us, it’s not worth the loss for the bureau to offend them,”

Ye Hua added.

Su An nodded, indicating her understanding.

“Then, Hong Jun, and everyone else, let’s change servers to discuss things in detail.”

‘This feels weird.’

Su An thought.

Back then, she saw that Narrow Gate had such a religious tone, so she intended to choose the name “Ancestor Hong Jun” to suppress it.

In the end, the “Ancestor” part had been deleted by Gu Yu.

Now that they were calling her Hong Jun, she often failed to realize they were talking to her.

***

Server 1999.

Inside a cluster of abandoned buildings.

It was raining heavily outside the building, creating a rustling sound.

Rain even leaked from the upper floors, splashing onto the ground and forming small, dirty puddles.

Although she knew her white silk socks wouldn’t get dirty, Su An still frowned, her slight germophobia acting up.

‘Next time I come in, I need to wear shoes,’ she thought.

Sensing Su An’s discomfort, Xia Wa reached out and gestured for Su An to come into her arms.

Su An struggled with the idea for a moment but ultimately lost to her germophobia.

She was held by Xia Wa in the same way Gu Yu held a child.

They began to communicate while Su An listened quietly from the side.

Gradually, she also came to understand the true nature of this organization: the Abnormal Android Mutual Aid Society.

“Your wound has gotten worse again.”

Ye Hua frowned, speaking to a ragged-looking android with a severed hand.

“It’s no big deal, Ye Hua. Look, I can still hop around!”

The android tried to reassure Ye Hua by moving his body.

“Hmph. Your brain really is malfunctioning. The server prohibits faking one’s appearance—besides preventing people from infiltrating, it’s to prevent cases like yours. Inside the server, no matter how heavy the injury is in reality, it doesn’t affect your movements. You’ve forgotten even that? You’re truly beyond saving. Tell me when you’re about to die; I’ll go collect your corpse.”

Du She spoke coldly.

“So… so I even forgot that.”

The one-armed android said in a daze.

Su An could see the hideous wound beneath his tattered clothes.

Xia Wa leaned close to Su An’s ear and whispered:

“What Du She means is, if a problem occurs, call her early. She’ll find a way to get to you and save you.”

As if she had heard something, Du She shot a fierce glare at Xia Wa.

Xia Wa’s red lips curled into a slight smile, looking quite enchanting.