“Hello, this is Liu Rui from the Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau. It’s like this…”
“Understood. We will organize a team and head out immediately…”
Hanging up the call, Liu Rui leaned back in his seat, comfortably watching the rain fall outside like a dense veil of gossamer.
Their bureau only handled android-related issues; the “bad guys,” naturally, were left to the Security Bureau.
Of course, he would also be keeping a close eye on the movements of Sielei.
Beneath Jewel Avenue: The Nest
Deep underground, Venom and Savage Bill followed the man in the gold-rimmed glasses to a breach where water was currently spilling in.
“This is bad. It must be raining outside; there’s a risk of a cave-in,” the man said, frowning.
Venom crouched down, inspecting it for a few moments.
“It won’t collapse.”
The man was curious how she could tell, but he didn’t press for details.
“Give me the memory,” Venom said, reaching out.
The man extended his arm, and Venom gripped his forearm firmly.
“Alright, you can go now.”
Having extracted the memory of him jumping into the sewers and stumbling into the Nest, Venom waved him off, waiting for the others to arrive.
The man in the gold-rimmed glasses spoke up with unwavering determination:
“I’m going too.”
Savage Bill threw him a puzzled look.
Venom was even more blunt:
“Why? Give me a reason. You just escaped from there this morning, didn’t you? Honestly, that kid getting into trouble might even be partly your fault.”
The man took a deep breath, adjusted his broken glasses, and said:
“My daughter is still there. I need to save her.”
“Daughter? An android can have a daughter? Is she an android too?”
Venom chuckled.
“Her name is Alice. She’s twelve years old, and she’s human, not an android. I am a butler; the story began six years ago.”
Venom glanced at the other androids arriving one after another.
“Make it short.”
“Fine. My original owner was a businessman, and Alice is his daughter. He wasn’t exactly a ‘good’ father, but he was at least a competent one. Until a year ago, when he fell into gambling…”
Venom looked thoughtful; she felt she could guess the rest.
“During that time, his moods were extremely volatile. Alice was shouted at and driven to tears many times, but I was powerless—I was just an android butler. Six months ago, he somehow joined a strange cult called the Holy Church. It’s a cult, I’m certain of it. My owner went as far as taking out bank loans just to funnel money to them. I could tolerate that, but a few days ago, I accidentally overheard him. In a state of extreme euphoria, he said he wanted to ‘offer’ Alice to a high-ranking figure in the Holy Church.”
“Hah?”
Even Venom was shocked.
CRACK!
Savage Bill instinctively punched the nearby concrete wall, leaving a massive fissure.
He roared in fury, “Is that even human?”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” the man said, his voice dropping from agitation to despair.
“It was then I realized I had become ‘Abnormal.’ I realized I had always been protecting Alice as if she were my own daughter. I couldn’t stand it! She’s only twelve! I had to get her out.”
He slumped further.
“I couldn’t do it. I failed. I’m the only one who made it out. The only silver lining is that they probably don’t realize Alice was the one helping me.”
“Well, it looks like our mission just got an extra objective,” Venom remarked dryly.
The man lowered his head, not daring to meet their eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Savage Bill said, slapping his chest.
“I, Savage Bill, will definitely rescue your daughter!”
“Thank you… thank you all,” the man said emotionally.
“Not so fast.”
Venom ignored Bill’s confused look and questioned the man:
“What happens after we get her out? Where do you plan to take her?”
The man hesitated.
“Just bring her back to the Nest!”
Bill said boisterously.
“With me around, no one will dare bully her!”
“You idiot,” Venom snapped, smacking the back of Bill’s head.
“Look at the conditions in the Nest. Do you think a human girl can survive here?”
The man adjusted his glasses.
“Her mother is also in Tianhai City. I can take her there.”
“And after that?”
Venom asked pointedly.
“Where do you go? You’re already on the Disposal Bureau’s blacklist. I doubt you can go anywhere outside the Nest.”
“That’s fine.”
He looked up at the rough concrete ceiling.
Above them were millions of tons of earth, heavy enough to stifle the breath out of anyone.
“That little girl didn’t give us an exact timeframe,” Venom noted.
“Should we head out now, or wait for the others?”
No one answered; they were unsure how to choose.
Venom scanned the group.
“Only Jehovah and Eve haven’t arrived yet. Considering they have to waste time entering the Nest, we can’t wait any longer. You.”
She pointed to one of the scrawnier androids.
“You stay behind. The rest of us—move out!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
came the collective reply.
The Cult’s Stronghold
In a villa not far from Gu Yu’s residence:
THUD!
Two android couriers were thrown violently onto the floor.
“Hahahaha! It’s confirmed. That little brat really can infect others without contact.”
Tzeentch laughed confidently, his sharp intuition once again proven right.
“Well done, Tzeentch. You truly live up to your name,” the serene-faced Grandfather said, patting him on the shoulder in approval.
“Tch, that young CEO Gu is surprisingly cautious,” Slaanesh muttered, leaning back on the sofa.
Her legs were propped up on the back of a middle-aged man with a beer belly and a balding head—the original owner of the villa.
“The test was all scheduled, and then he just calls it off. I had to pull back to avoid tipping him off.”
“My Lord…”
the bald man stammered, looking at Slaanesh with a gaze of religious devotion.
“Please, let my daughter… let my daughter also bathe in the Holy—”
Slap!
Slaanesh’s expression soured.
She pressed her foot—the same kind of “sweaty foot” look as Sister Yu—directly into the bald man’s face, pinning his head to the floor.
“I didn’t give you permission to speak.”
“Oh, now, why are you doing that? We must be kind to our believers!”
Grandfather said gently, helping the bald man up.
The man thanked him profusely.
SPLAT!
Before he could finish his thanks, the man’s head exploded like a watermelon.
Khorne, wearing a steel muzzle and sporting a scar over his left eye, leaned against the wall.
He toyed with several steel ball bearings in a fully cybernetic hand.
“Stop playing house. My mole in the Security Bureau intercepted and blocked two police reports. One came from the ‘Story’ park several hours ago.”
Tzeentch’s face stiffened.
He thought for a moment, his expression shifting as he identified the target.
“And another one,” Khorne continued, looking toward Slaanesh, “came just a while ago, reported by Liu Rui of the Android Disposal Bureau.”
Slaanesh’s face went cold, then she suddenly broke into a giggle.
“And here I thought my acting was flawless. It seems I was seen through long ago.”
Grandfather didn’t scold them.
Instead, he looked at Khorne.
“Have you mapped out the security at Jewel Avenue?”
“In half an hour, there will be a gap during the guard rotation.”
“Good! Excellent work.”
Grandfather nodded with satisfaction before addressing the other three.
“There are thirty android soldiers and ten of our precious ‘Dead-Walkers’ in the backyard. In thirty minutes, the androids will deploy a wide-range signal jammer. There are only two primitive domestic robots in that villa with any combat capability—hardly worth mentioning. This is the key to the Holy Church’s rise. Failure is not an option. Do not disappoint me.”
With that, Grandfather headed upstairs.
His white eyebrows twitched slightly as he looked at a blonde girl curled up in a corner on the second floor.
Her face was a mask of terror; clearly, she had witnessed everything.
“Hehehe…”
Grandfather let out a gentle, serene laugh.
“Come here, little one. Your father has returned to eternal bliss. But I can be your father now.”