Minjy the Robot in Glitter City: Minjy's Fourth Adventure

By Steven Michael Krystal

Minjy the Robot in Glitter City is a fiction e-book for middle grade and young adult readers ages 8 to 16. This is the fourth story in the series. Other titles include the original e-book, Minjy the Robot, and the sequels, Minjy the Robot Returns; Minjy the Robot – A Pirate's Life.

Minjy's adventure unfolds in dazzling Glitter City, which is a stop along the way before going to see Miss Wong in St. Belle. Suddenly, a variety of people and circumstances come together and lead to an unexpected series of events.

To her surprise, Minjy is re-united with an old colleague, Iga, who unknowingly has become entrapped in a stolen art scheme. There are few clues to go on. As the investigator and detective try to solve the crime, Minjy once again meets a whole new cast of characters, both scrupulous and unscrupulous. Things unravel for the thief and finger pointing begins. Drama ensues, and a gripping situation has Minjy fighting for her life!

Despite being caught up in all the intrigue, Minjy does her best to ensure that goodness prevails.

Readers who enjoy this story can continue to follow her in the fifth e-book, Minjy the Robot and the Search for Wing Wong.

Happy reading!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Michael Krystal
• Release date: Mar 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370572519

Steven Michael Krystal

Steven Michael Krystal is the author of the Minjy the Robot series of e-books for kids ages 8 to 16.“I’m a true believer that goodness prevails.” According to Steven, this theme is consistent in all of the Minjy the Robot fictional stories.He wrote his first e-book, Minjy the Robot, in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since.“It’s really great to now have the time to write. It’s something I’ve always loved to do.”The sequel, Minjy the Robot Returns, followed shortly afterwards. Steven’s third e-book, Minjy the Robot – A Pirate’s Life, was released in August 2016. In May 2017, Steven released, Minjy the Robot in Glitter City, which is the fourth e-book in the series.“When I began to write the Minjy the Robot series, it started out as fantasy for children. It developed into fiction for middle grade and young adult readers, dealing with morals and human nature.“It’s very exciting to release my fifth e-book, Minjy the Robot and the Search for Wing Wong. As always, this story is a completely new adventure for Minjy and readers alike. I hope you’ll enjoy.”Steven’s favorite fiction is the 1939 fantasy / adventure movie, The Wizard of Oz.“I’m very fond of this story. I think it’s absolutely brilliant. It claims to be for the young and ‘the young at heart’ – very true. Stories that can touch the hearts of both kids and adults really appeal to me. I try to aspire to this kind of writing.”It has now been several years since Steven wrote his first e-book and he reflects on how his character has evolved.“One of the many enjoyable aspects of writing the Minjy the Robot series of e-books is to see how Minjy has changed – for the better of course! Her behavior and appearance has evolved from story to story. The creativity in developing Minjy’s changing demeanor and the way she looks have been a fun experience.”For this Canadian author, life lessons are commonly full of twists and turns, and are really great teachers.“I’ve learned that at times, some things have a funny way of turning out. To have faith and hope that things will work out for the best is a motivating concept for me. I’ve also learned from the experience the importance of kindness and compassion. I try to incorporate all of these thoughts and feelings into the stories that I write.”Happy reading!

Book preview

Minjy the Robot in Glitter City

Minjy’s Fourth Adventure

Copyright © 2017 by Steven Michael Krystal

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photo-copying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This book/e-book story is a work of fiction. All names, characters and incidents depicted in this book/e-book story are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, organizations, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and is not intended by the author.

Published by Steven Michael Krystal

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

E-mail: [e-mail]

Website: smkrystal.wixsite.com/minjy-the-robot

Minjy the Robot e-books:

Minjy the Robot

Minjy the Robot Returns

Minjy the Robot – A Pirate’s Life

Minjy the Robot in Glitter City

Minjy the Robot and the Search for Wing Wong

Chapter 1

Mick’s smartphone rang.

Where are you? I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Mick, I’ve been worried sick about you!

Olivia, don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m in America.

In America? When did you leave London? What are you doing there?

I’m the laughing stock of Redbridge. Surely everyone knows that the painting was stolen on my watch. No one will hire me after that, and I can’t say that I blame them. Olivia, I’ve got to carry on and make a fresh start.

Mick York worked as the night manager in a small, upscale, East London hotel. It was quaint and more like an inn and had been recently renovated. Just off the lobby was a sitting area with a comfortable couch and several plush chairs. There was a Victorian era fireplace which was the focal point of the room.

Above its mantel hung a small painting by a little known, Welsh artist named Stuart Hobbs.

It was a painting of a polo competition, and while the colors were rather drab, its details were considered just shy of masterpiece quality. Most people took little notice of the piece which depicted horsemen swinging their mallets. Yet knowledgeable art collectors knew otherwise - its value was easily worth upwards of fifty thousand pounds. Hobbs had gifted the painting to his nephew, Dan, who owned the hotel.

"Mick, exactly where are you?"

I’m in Glitter City. It’s full of hotels and restaurants. I’m sure I’ll find work.

That’s crazy! You don’t know the first thing about America. You’ve lived in Redbridge your whole life. Mick, you’ve hardly ever ventured into London! How are you going to make your way in Glitter City?

"The thought of those gents making off with that painting haunts me. I’ve let Dan Hobbs down. Olivia, that was a really valuable piece of art, and because of me he’s lost tens of thousands of pounds. Even worse, the painting was a gift from his Uncle Stuart. It had real sentimental value. I can’t get it off my mind!

I did manage to get a glimpse of those blokes before the video surveillance went dead. They were texting on their phones. Someday I’ll find out who they were, and I’ll figure out how they got away with it. But for now I need a change – I hope you understand. Good-bye, Olivia.

Mick’s thumb pressed down on the button and he glanced at the screen – ‘call ended’.

Chapter 2

Power on.

The device’s voice recognition function activated.

This feature was one of the many upgrades that were recently made to the ‘WaveTitan’ high security smartphone. The user simply spoke to the device and told it what to do. Voice recognition had entirely replaced the need for a keypad.

The phone also had the ability to encrypt and decrypt messages. This meant that the words of messages could be scrambled and unscrambled by the phone’s software. As an added layer of security, the phone also enabled the level of encryption to be modified. This allowed messages to be unique to the user’s requirements and even more secure. The phone’s manufacturer boasted that this type of technology was impossible to hack.

Another impressive feature was that the phone could jam signals and temporarily disable most kinds of electronic devices.

With everything that it could do, the WaveTitan proved to be the overwhelming choice for governments and the military - and unintentionally, professional thieves.

He sat patiently and glanced at the screen every so often, waiting for the message icon to appear. After a few moments it did.

Open message.

The screen illuminated and the message read: The early bird catches the worm.

He paused to think.

Decrypt message.

The message changed and now read: Ready to go, advise time.

He smiled.

Create message.

A flashing icon appeared on the screen prompting him to speak.

Okay to proceed tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., good luck.

Upon completion of the message the device confirmed that it had been recognized word for word. He gave the encryption command and the original version changed instantly.

The message now read: A stitch in time saves nine.

Send message.

He felt a sense of satisfaction that the plan was finally set into motion. He sat back and continued to

think.

Isn’t technology wonderful?

* * * *

Advances in technology were not, of course, limited to smartphones. Its effects on modern day cities were equally fascinating. Sprawling, high rise towers were the new normal in most of the world’s biggest cities. Leading the way was Glitter City with the newest, tallest skyscrapers that dotted its skyline. It was nothing short of dazzling. Most of the buildings were large hotels whose colorful neon lights were a visual spectacle, especially against the backdrop of the night sky.

Glitter City basked in sunshine and warm temperatures that allowed visitors to enjoy endless outdoor recreation. Yet most people could hardly wait for the sun to set, so the city lights could illuminate the horizon. For some magical reason, the awesome display of colors created an exciting atmosphere that was unique to this city.

Renovations to the San Elora Grand Hotel’s lower level were going well. It was always business as usual while upgrades were being made, especially for a forty storey complex of this kind. Crews worked around the clock to ensure that all of the work was completed as quickly as possible with no disruption to hotel operations. Although it was late in the evening, the pace of work was just as quick as during the day to get things done.

It was just before midnight when she received the text message. After reading it, she put her smartphone on the night table and paused to think.

This is very short notice, but I have no choice, she said to herself. Very well then, tomorrow morning at nine will have to do. You can’t pick and choose when it comes to a job. I better get some sleep. Before you know it, it will be time to get up.

* * * *

Morning had arrived in the blink of an eye. The San Elora Grand was buzzing with staff already hard at work. It was a sign of the times that practically every employee would glance at their phones while on the job. While some used them for work, most were either texting personal messages or checking social media.

It was shortly before 9:00 a.m. when the renovation crew was getting ready for their break. A few of them gave Iga friendly smiles as they walked by. She was in the housekeeping department and new at the job. Iga enjoyed the attention and did not hesitate to return a warm smile to them. Once they had left, the lower level became much quieter.

This is great timing. It is 9:00 a.m. and things are going just as planned, thought Iga.

She took out her phone and began texting.

There was hardly anyone around aside from a couple of cleaning staff, some delivery men, and a woman texting on her phone. She was heading in Iga’s direction