38. Two Girlfriends

After waiting for a short while at the ticket booth, the two suddenly heard a commotion and murmurs rising from the nearby crowd.

“Let’s go take a look,” Chen Shang stood up and gestured to Chiyo.

Chiyo, however, asked coldly, “Do you always have to join in on every little spectacle?”

Chen Shang didn’t answer her and headed toward the source of the disturbance. Meanwhile, a new real-time update appeared on his system panel:

[“Black Calis (Imitation)” is approximately 20m...15m...10m away from you...]

Pushing through the crowd of onlookers, Chen Shang saw a slender mechanical girl, about one meter sixty tall by his estimation. She wore a white T-shirt and shorts, carrying a bulging women’s sports bag.

Artificial beings were not uncommon in Night Axis City, making up over ten percent of the total population. Some wealthy individuals, seeking liberation from the sufferings of flesh, even chose to upload their consciousness into machines.

But this mechanical girl drew attention not just for what she was, but because an elderly fortune teller was pestering her relentlessly.

“Young lady, you broke my family heirloom, and now you think you can just walk away?” The fortune teller grabbed the girl’s arm with one hand, holding a broken jade pendant in the other.

“Nonsense! You threw that thing in the middle of the road yourself—you’re just trying to scam me!” the girl retorted with an angry, distinctly feminine voice.

But the fortune teller became even more agitated, shouting, “How dare you slander me! Just because you’re a robot doesn’t mean I can’t deal with you!”

“What do you want, then?” The mechanical girl shook her long brown hair, impatience flashing in her eyes. “I’m supposed to meet someone soon.”

“Hmph! Don’t come up with excuses!” The fortune teller spat on the ground, eyes fierce. “One hundred thousand! Non-negotiable!”

“What the hell! That’s daylight robbery!” The girl’s expression turned anxious. “I’m just a tourist—where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”

Given local prices in the Kunlun District, two hundred thousand could buy a house in the suburbs.

“If you can’t pay, come with me to White Crane Gate!” the fortune teller threatened, aggressive. “Otherwise, I’ll hand you over to the authorities and have you locked up!”

Hearing this, the surrounding onlookers let out another round of murmurs.

“If the sect gets their hands on this girl, they’ll probably strip her for every valuable part she’s got,” someone whispered, but no one stepped in.

Faced with these threats, the girl’s face darkened, the lights on her face twisting into a strange, unsettling smile.

“Are you...absolutely sure?”

“Cut the crap and come with me!” The fortune teller yanked her arm, attempting to drag her away without a second thought.

Suddenly, a black-haired youth darted from the crowd, quickly moving to block the fortune teller.

Before the old man could react, Chen Shang’s foot shot out, landing squarely between the fortune teller’s legs.

“Aaaargh! You little bastard...my...my...my manhood...!” The fortune teller’s scream echoed down the street.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Chen Shang grabbed the mechanical girl’s arm and led her out of the crowd.

After they had escaped, the mechanical girl thanked him in a soft, timid voice, “Th-thank you.”

Chen Shang only waved his finger, grinning mischievously. “That old charlatan should be thanking me, not you.”

The lights on the girl’s face flickered for a moment. Then, a dangerous smile slowly formed across her metallic features.

“You’re quite right, Mr. Chen. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have had to dismember that old man at the next intersection.”

As she spoke, a slot opened on her arm, and a high-speed rotating saw blade slid out.

Chen Shang cleared his throat, regaining his composure. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Black Calis.”

The mechanical girl—Black Calis—reached out and caressed his cheek, her cold metal fingers gliding slowly over his warm skin.

“No need to be so formal. We were pretty casual when we chatted online, weren’t we?”

Chen Shang brushed her hand aside and examined her closely. Unlike most commercial androids, her body was not covered with synthetic skin, and her hair was just an obviously artificial wig. The metallic surface glinted in the sunlight, exuding a certain mechanical beauty.

Yet, this petite and exquisite mechanical girl had a unique charm of her own.

“So this is what you really look like?” Chen Shang asked, intrigued.

Her developers had never given Black Calis an in-game model or portrait; even he had never seen her true form.

“No, this is just a temporary shell I found,” she replied nonchalantly, flicking her hair. “If I run into trouble, I won’t hesitate to self-destruct and escape.”

As they spoke, Chiyo Yasougi hurried over to them. Seeing the intimate posture between Chen Shang and the mechanical girl, a sudden surge of inexplicable anger rose in her heart.

“Who is she?” Chiyo asked, feigning calm.

“Pleasure to meet you. You must be the heiress of the Yasougi Group, right? Chen told me about you~” The mechanical girl greeted her enthusiastically. “I’m Yotsuba, Chen’s girlfriend~”

“What?” Chen Shang was stunned.

The next moment, he saw Chiyo trembling with clenched fists, her eyes filled with fury as if she might kill him on the spot.

“Hey, don’t drag me into your little games...” Chen Shang shot Black Calis a helpless look.

Just as Chiyo was about to lash out, Black Calis suddenly leaned in, studying her face curiously.

“Wow, as expected of a young lady—you really take care of your skin~” Black Calis’s cybernetic eyes scanned Chiyo’s face. “A touch of blush on your cheeks, high-end concealer under your eyes...you’re dressed for a date, aren’t you?”

“D-d-date?” Chiyo stammered, her anger dissipating by half. “Who would go on a date with him!”

“Ahem,” Chen Shang interrupted, introducing them. “Chiyo, this—Miss Yotsuba—is a professional hacker. She’ll be assisting me in the coming days.”

Chiyo Yasougi snorted in disdain. “A hacker? You think a single hacker can turn the whole Kunlun District upside down?”

For a conglomerate heiress, hackers were a dime a dozen. In her eyes, so-called ‘professional hackers’ were little more than tech nerds with above-average computer skills—nothing as legendary as people made them out to be.

Chen Shang raised his head and countered, “You don’t believe it?”

“Say what you like, I only care about results,” Chiyo replied, uninterested.

Black Calis then whispered, “You’re really bringing this heiress along? Can she be trusted?”

Chen Shang glanced at the approval rating bar and replied, “Theoretically, she’s more trustworthy than you.”

After a brief exchange of introductions, the three made their way to the Confucian Gate’s ticket check. Even though Chiyo and Black Calis eyed each other with deep suspicion, for Chen Shang’s sake, they agreed to go together.

Chen Shang took out his phone and scanned the ticket machine.

A text projection immediately appeared on the scanner:

“Three-person couples package...Welcome! Enjoy your visit!”

Tourists behind them clicked their tongues in surprise.

Even the ticket inspector at the gate muttered under his breath, “People actually buy those?”

With a blackened face, Chen Shang hurried the two girls through the entrance. Behind him, he could vaguely hear Black Calis’s piercing laughter.