The ninth symbiont

By Lessie Olmstead

I know that I will always be with you in your heart, give you courage, encourage you, like the moon in the sky, no matter where you go to look at you, I will always love you, and will not blame you for changing your heart later, you see, from another Angle, this is the so-called parting.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lessie Olmstead
• Release date: Mar 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798869012135

Book preview

Chapter 1

    The hibernation program has been terminated.

    Mastermind awakening in progress.

    Countdown, three, two.

    The gentle female voice ended abruptly, and before the last second of the countdown, Caesar opened his eyes.

    In front of him stood two men, one of them dressed in a uniform, greenish-gray, with classic metal buttons that were already somewhat worn, looking to be in his thirties, with disheveled hair, and a metal number on his chest, 00019.Seeing that he was awake, he reached out and waved his hand in front of his eyes.

    Caesar subconsciously ducked, agile and alert, he frowned at the other man, What for?

    It works. Ignoring him, 00019 turned to the man beside him and said, This one works, and the other one too, later.

    The man looked Caesar up and down, Not a real person?

    00019 operated the storage cabinet next to Caesar, the touchpad on his arm constantly emitting a soft vibration-like chatter, Of course not, what, too much like a real person? It's military, of course it's well made, this- he pointed at Caesar, He could buy three blocks in District 9 with just his arm, killing machine, you know?

    Another cabinet door opened and the gentle girl counted down to one this time, a green-eyed teenager stood blankly inside as 00019 knocked on the door and said, All clear, I'll replace the chip later and you can take it with you.

    Change the chip?

    Of course we need to change the chip, the attack module is going to be limited, you want to get run over by them with a finger?

    The man gave a laugh of contempt.

    00019 looked to one side, a scar on the other's brow bone, and short black hair combed back so that the face that gave away his authority was fully revealed.

    How much money did the military district scam the Symbiote program? Killing machines, just them?

    00019 looked like he was displeased with his attitude and pointed at Caesar, Do you know how many fully armed singletons he could beat in his factory tests?60, no human could be stronger than that, he's the most expensive of all the symbiotes and the most capable.

    Erving looked at Caesar again, the other man was a little shorter than him, about 180 or so, his limbs were slender and strong and thin, his slightly long black hair was combed back, revealing a white face, and at the moment, the other man was staring at him, his jade-like chin slightly lifted, and his foggy eyes vaguely glowing with a reddish light.

    What are you looking at me for? Erving took the tiger's mouth and jammed it into his jaw, bringing his face very close.

    You looked at me first. Caesar hung back and said, You're in love with me?

    Erving let go and stifled another laugh, much less contemptuous this time, as if amused by Caesar, the scar on his brow bone reflecting slightly from the light in the warehouse.

    00019 stopped paying attention to him and unlocked the small built-in safe next to him with his own pupil pattern, took out the two chips inside, looked at the numbers, and inserted them into the tops of Caesar's head and that of the teenager next to him.

    Caesar felt uncomfortable, as if his arms and legs were bound, and he moved his body uncomfortably, and it took a while before he felt that discomfort subside.

    The man with the scar on his brow bone was still surveying him, as if trying to find gaps in his body where the metal materials had been joined, where the paint had gone over the line or where the screws had been inserted into the hollow. But no, he went to touch the top of Caesar's head, and there wasn't a thin slit there for the chip to enter either, presumably it closed automatically upon insertion, and there was only the warm touch of his scalp when he touched it, and his rough fingers dug into Caesar's soft hair, and Caesar cringed and didn't duck.

    Go. He withdrew his hand and turned toward the warehouse door.

    Wait. 00019 stops him, not looking as sure as he did a moment ago, Erpro, is it really okay?

    Erpro turned and touched a certain scar on his brow bone, Hmm?

    Where the hell are you taking them?

    Go to Sector 9. Erpro's impatience was evident, his eyes cold.

    To do what?

    It's not in your jurisdiction.

    District 9? Where in District 9?

    I told you, it's not in your jurisdiction.

    Those are the last two! 00019 seemed to regret it a little and reached out to stop Caesar, I'll be damned if I'm found out.

    Erpro pulled out two thin bills and threw them at him without raising his eyes, and they fell to the ground, reflecting an icy blue light.

    They've been here for years, has anyone asked?

    ...... 00019 hesitated for a moment, stooping to pick it up, and Erzin looked down at him, and he picked up the bill and saw something in Erzin's eyes, not contempt, but utter disregard, like looking at a dirty piece of wallboard.

    The three of them fishtailed out of the warehouse, outside the warehouse was the dirty clearing, high walls wrapped the clearing almost straight up into the sky, it was dark, the drizzle was always non-stop, the ground was covered in potholes and depressions, Caesar struck up a conversation with the teenager who had been awakened together beside him, What's your name, huh?

    Celandine. The teenager's voice was soft, What's your name?

    Caesar. He said, Julius Caesar the Caesar.

    Caesar remembered, he was manufactured 6015 days ago, the model is Sacred Son, the system randomly named Caesar, like the uniformed man said, it is the military, the army called them symbiotes, but they will not live and die with the soldiers, they serve as a vanguard, as a weapon, the symbiote sounds more like a warm disguise. more like a warm disguise. Caesar hadn't been in battle, he'd been sent here to hibernate after he'd been in standby for a while after he'd left the factory, it was 4,395 days ago, the man in the uniform had put him here for safekeeping along with Freesia, the other man was a little younger then than he was now, and the metal buttons on his clothes hadn't faded, Caesar remembered his number, 00019.

    Now 00019 is stealing them and selling them.

    Caesar thought of this and turned to look at Ran, who was also looking at him, his eyes full of apprehension, Caesar smiled and grasped his limp hand, It's okay, what are you afraid of?

    Lesser Celand leaned toward him, and Caesar simply wrapped his arms around him and said, I didn't get a chance to talk to you when we were sent over here; are you a saint's son, too?

    No. Freesia said, I am the Holy Spirit, and you are the only one who is the Holy Son.

    Yeah, really?

    Caesar pretended to be surprised, in fact, it was nothing to be surprised at all, he did not care about this, the Holy Son, the Holy Spirit, there is no difference between 00019, 00020, the batch code is just a batch code, he just wanted to say something to make the little Celandine not so nervous.

    Yes, you are the one and only Holy Son.

    It was time to go to the door, which was opened, and Csar took Freesia by the arm, and they followed at the end out of the door.

    00019 had been standing at a distance watching them.

    There was a flying machine in the doorway, hanging frozen in mid-air, a flat rectangle, like a coffin given to constriction, and Earpro told them to sit at the far end.

    Caesar scowled with a face full of newfound wonder as Erpro finally spoke to him.

    You have your own personalities, don't you?

    Caesar said, Of course there is, the system randomizes it.

    What's the keyword you randomized to?

    I don't know, that's all. Caesar still had his arm around Freesia, Like pretty boys, does this count?

    Erving laughed out loud and reached up to touch Pale Ran's face, touching it delicately, then down, caressing his warm, soft neck, then down, reaching into his shirt.

    Freesia bore it in silence, not moving or trying to ask for help.

    You won't be angry? Erving's hand was in Freesia's shirt, his eyes fixed on Caesar.

    I'm not going to attack you, I'm not going to attack anyone until I'm instructed to do so, and right now my attack module is restricted, so even if someone were to place an order on me it wouldn't work. Caesar said this, pulling his hand out of Freeland's shirt, But I suggest you'd better stop touching.

    The craft moved forward noiselessly, the gradually increasing light outside shone in, it was neon, pink, purple, blue, piece by piece squeezed into the night like a diluted colorful turbid liquid, the narrow streets were slowly swarming with people like a tide, the wide roads were empty, the rain drenched everything with wetness, reflecting dappled light. The screen on the outside of the skyscraper looped a short movie, a young girl sitting on the ground, long black hair, red pupils, wearing a short dress made of thin black gauze, her chest took a black bandage and crossed and pasted two x's, a pair of white feathered wings behind her back slowly opened, her long skirt slipped downward, and the pair of feathers wrapped around her body, the young girl picked up an apple and gently bit into it, and the feathers fell off, revealing scarlet flesh and rotting wounds, and she was still held up the apple, squinting into the endless night, a few fluttering letters at the bottom of the screen, Angel.

    Caesar stared at the clip, a hard look on his face.

    Like pretty girls too? Erpro followed his gaze, Is it a system preference to like that, too?

    ...... No. Caesar said, I don't like her like that.

    Caesar was a little annoyed for some reason, he stopped looking and held Freesia a little tighter.

    The neon lights over Sector    3 were hidden, the boundary line a thick black line, uninhabited. Soon the lights in Sector 9 flickered on, a warm and bright yellow, with classically shaped street lamps neatly lined up along the side of the neat streets, and they gradually flew into the center of Sector 9, as if overlooking a rain-soaked paradise.

    The craft descended slowly, Caesar and Celand followed behind Erpro, a semi-circular building stood before them, they almost stung their eyes by the bright light emanating from the building, the sound of people leaked faintly from inside the building, noisy and bustling, but outside it was silent, and someone had come to meet them, dressed in a well-pressed suit, the same as the one Erpro had on.

    Except that Erving was wearing a tie and the other was wearing a bow tie.

    The other man led them through the door, took a detour to an elevator in a secluded area, activated the elevator with his fingerprints, and then turned and walked away, and now it was just the three of them again.

    The elevator door closed and the lights inside faded to a faint blue, as if at the bottom of the ocean, Caesar couldn't see the faces of the people around him, he closed his eyes, and the little pale orchid stayed staring blankly ahead in a daze.

    There were no buttons, no prompts, the elevator kept going up, and up again, and after about a minute the doors opened and Erpro led them out, a thin narrow door opened wide and the three men stepped inside, Erpro unlocking the door.

    Change of clothes. He gestured to the two sets of short white robes hanging in the closet.

    As soon as Caesar tore the clothes off of himself and threw them to the floor, naked, Erpro pulled open a drawer and tossed him some jewelry, solid gold bracelets and collars with a pattern of shallow prongs, which Caesar put on without a care in the world, put on his short robes, and turned to help Pale Orchid change.

    The freesia hung its head, meek and tame.

    I brought you here today to accompany an important guest. The hint of casualness that Earpro had just exuded faded, and he became cold again, badly spoken, businesslike, like he was addressing 00019.

    Hmm? Caesar said, Why us?

    Why can't it be you guys?

    There are plenty of humans of our looks and size too, and it's still safer than we are, and that's not a good deal.

    It's not your place to ask.

    Erling said this with the same contempt and indifference as when he had just said This is not your jurisdiction to 00019.

    Caesar helped Freesia put on the collar made of gold, but stared at Erpro as if in provocation, 00019 think you're kidding when you say one of my arms could buy three blocks here?

    So, are you bargaining with me? Erpro came closer, the scar on his brow bone looking grim, You? Symbiote?

    I'm not bargaining, I'm just carrying out the program I was set up to do when I was created, my personality is what it is, and it was only set up to allow the symbiote to communicate and work better with the military. Caesar's expression and eyes were so vibrantly arrogant, it had nothing to do with the words he uttered, Obedience is the symbiote's natural duty.

    Erpro suddenly winced, he felt like he had a cognitive dissonance, this wasn't a human being, this was just a robot, and like all programmed programs, his words and expressions were just a form of expression, and he would obey, always obey.

    Pale Orchid was dressed as well, standing to the side in a formal manner, and Erzrin looked at him, reaching out to clip a golden earring clasp to his earlobe, and Pale Orchid locked eyes with Erzrin, his green pupils slowly dilating, and then dilating again, gradually taking over his entire eyeballs.

    What's wrong with him? Erving pointed at Ran, turning back to Caesar.

    He's scared. Caesar said, It's just the setting, pupil size doesn't affect his reaction.

    Can't let him go out like that.

    I can't change his settings.

    If he's useless, I'll throw him down.

    The curtains were slowly drawn back, and outside the window was glorious sunlight and clouds, and Erving pressed the prismatic touchpad on the wall, and the sunlight and clouds were hidden, and the real night scene was revealed, and raindrops fell in streaks on the window, and here they were, overlooking it all.

    Turns out this is the top floor, the very top of Section 9.

    Caesar thought for a moment, cupping Freesia's face and kissing him gently on the forehead.

    Little Pale Orchid was still open-eyed and stiff, and Caesar was holding him, his erect back looking reliable and safe.

    We have witnessed the drifting starbursts of Jerusalem. Caesar sang to him, The Son has fallen, the Holy Spirit keeps hope forever.

    Freesia's pupils slowly narrowed.

    Erving suddenly felt a little uneasy, an emotion that rarely came over him.

    He pushed through the narrow door with the two teenagers and headed out, through a long corridor where a tall, wide door closed tightly.

    Go on. Erving pointed there.

    Caesar and Freesia went forward side by side, and Erpro turned away, and the door was opened with a dull thud, and voices came from within, a chorus of several tender childish voices.

    We have witnessed the drifting starbursts of Jerusalem, the Son has fallen, the Holy Spirit keeps hope forever ......

Chapter 2

    The lights in the room were dim, almost as dim as they had been in the elevator just moments before, orange lights floating in the air like apocalyptic twilight.

    It's a spacious and cozy room, with sofas and footstools neatly arranged. Decorative paintings of electronic screens looked paper-thin and clung to the walls, and naked girls ran wildly in the rain, their eyes confused, the soles of their feet covered in black and red mud, looking back as they ran, letting out an occasional sob.

    Caesar couldn't understand why such a painting was put up for decoration; it was pointless and unattractive.

    The tender child's voice had not stopped, probably coming from some hidden audio device, and the little pale orchid hung her head slightly, unable to stop her eyelashes from fluttering.

    The man sitting on the couch with his back to them coughed suddenly, and Caesar could hear that he was no longer young.

    He stood up, dressed in a scarlet robe and white and gold soft-soled penny loafers, and slowly walked over to Caesar and Little Celand, his eyes darting between the two of them as he asked, Which one of you, you two, is the Holy Son?

    Caesar said, I am the Son.

    He shakily put on his glasses and looked closely at Caesar as the light slowly brightened, no longer a warm orange, but a cold glowing ghastly white, and Caesar inclined his head to him, meeting those eyes and seeing nothing, wrinkles, old age spots, cloudy orbs with red blood, and he wondered what this man had to do with himself.

    The hat on the other man's head was faintly reflective of the gold filigree threads that were embroidered on it, and it was shaped like a pointed shield in the front, with a spangled band falling behind it, dropping softly down to rest on his shoulders.

    Caesar stared at the hat for a moment and made a face of realization, You're the Pope.

    How did you know I was the Pope? He grasped Caesar's hand, the corners of his mouth quivering with flab, and his eyes filled with an eager light, like he was looking at his own grandson who had been handed down to him for ten generations.

    Because your hat is the Lord's Crown Hat, which only the Pope can wear, I can capture the images I see and then search for them. Caesar said.

    Is that all? He didn't die, My name is Franois, Franois ...... VIII.

    I can't search for information related to Pope Franois VIII.

    Francois let go of Csar's hand, and those ardent hopes passed away.

    Someone pushed the door in, the last one unlocking it, and the one at the front walked to the end of the room, opened a drawer, and drew out a clear, sharp knife, the touchpad on the hilt of which glowed with a pale blue light flickered for a moment, and the edge of the knife instantly surged with a wave of an unsettling red color, illuminating the dark patterns on his robes.

    Lie down on it. Franois pointed to the table.

    Caesar moved forward, and Freeland suddenly clutched his wrist tightly, and Caesar looked back at him, smiling reassuringly, It's all right.

    He broke away from Freesia's hand and walked up to lie down, his hands squared on either side of his body, his eyes staring straight up at the ceiling.

    Francois sat across from him, and the man with the knife made two false gestures in the small of his back, and suddenly stabbed in hard!

    Cesar's veins popped up at the corners of his forehead, but no sound came out as he slowly turned his head to look at Freeland and said, without making a sound, Shhh.

    The knife kept slicing downward, and Caesar knew it was no ordinary knife, at least so much better than the material used to make his own skin, and he felt a great deal of pain, a great deal of pain.

    He was feeling it.

    The abdominal cavity was opened and Francois stood up and came closer to look.

    There was no blood or flesh; inside were glittering cobalt blue circuit boards with layers of wires.

    Franois could not believe it, and after a long while he stretched out a finger like a withered twig and pointed it fixedly at Csar's breast, Cut here, too!

    Pale Orchid's pupils began to dilate again, and he didn't dare to look at Caesar, but he could hear Caesar's suppressed cry of pain, soft, pressed into his throat, one after the other, causing a dull ache in his heart.

    Caesar was the first to shake his hand.

    The men in robes had no way of cutting through Caesar's chest, and with great effort they only managed to leave a shallow indentation on his white chest, which was fleeting, like a snowflake blown away by the wind.

    Frustrated, Franois sat down on the couch with a ragged breath, seemingly at a loss for what to do for a moment, and after a while he saw Ran, who had been standing silently to one side, and pointed at him, Come here.

    Looking for him for what? Isn't it the Son you're looking for? He's the Holy Spirit. Caesar finally spoke, his voice trembling, and Pale Ran knew it was because he was in so much pain.

    Franois did not answer him, and Freeland obediently came over and lay down beside Csar; the wide table felt to Freeland like a mortuary slab, but he felt a little reassured by being so close to Csar.

    The man with the knife stripped him of his clothes, and held it for a moment to his chest, and was about to cut down, when Csar sprang up, and with one hand pressed against Ran's side to protect him, and with a bared sound the knife left a gash in his arm, which he did not regard as a matter of importance.

    Are you guys trying to see what's built into my chest cavity? Caesar said, No need to be so violent, it can be opened, there's a button, and it won't help even if you cut him open, I'm not the same model as him, there's a difference in the construction inside.

    That's-that's an artificial button. Franois was still breathing heavily, like he was on the verge of a heart attack, Filth, blasphemy!

    But there's no way you can destroy the material in my chest with an outside force. Caesar pointed to himself and said, I'm military, do you know how much it cost to build me? Not the same rags you stash around the house to cuddle and sleep and kiss.

    You're not military, and I don't have any rags stashed around the house to cuddle up and sleep with! Francois yelled at him, booped, his dentures popped out and bounced twice on the floor, he deflated, shaking the slack flesh of his face as if electrocuted, and after a long moment he said, Where's that button?

    Caesar lay back and reached behind his own ear with his left hand and pressed gently with his ring finger for about five seconds, a whitish fog rose over his eyeballs and the corners of his mouth, which had been slightly upturned, began to become horizontal, and the loss of life made him look a lot like the look of the crudely made dummies in the malls, who stood at the counter with a wooden face scratching their heads, and the corners of their mouths drooped downward.

    A thin opened in the middle of his body, the slit gradually became bigger, like two small narrow doors, rising upwards and then separating, so all the inner workings of his body were exposed, circuit boards, wires, countless starry light-blue light particles floating in the translucent processor, and at the chest was an opaque artificial heart, shiny gold, with a metallic sheen, looking strange and thick, being beating slowly, like a bomb that would be detonated at any moment, like the shrugged shoulders of a person crying.

    Francois looked at the metal heart and shed a line of muddy old tears.

    Ah-ah-ah-ah! He cried out in pain and roared madly. The narrow little door in Caesar's body closed back up, the foggy whiteness of his eyes disappeared, and he lay calmly where he was, and little Celand clutched his hand in terror, and he gripped it back hard.

    Don't be afraid. Caesar teased, Don't try to understand humans, ever, they'll go crazy and die anytime, and we won't, ever.

    The man in the robes put the knife back in its place and led them out of the room and down the elevator they'd come in on the -7th floor, which was damp and dank and out of place from everything above, and the door closed without a single ray of light, and Caesar sat in his place for only a moment before he flopped down with a thud.

    Startled, Freesia Lan hurriedly fumbled for his hand, asking nervously, What's wrong with you?

    It's cut to the wire inside, maybe the mobility function will be affected, it's fine, it'll be fixed.

    Freesia couldn't stop nodding in fear and reached out to touch the wound on his stomach, Caesar grunted, Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.

    Sorry! Freesia hurriedly retracted her hand.

    That's strange, why do you want us to feel pain? Caesar leaned into his arms, trying to distract him, As a weapon, isn't the slower the better?

    Probably trying to improve our reaction time ...... or something. Freesia said, I don't get it either.

    Then why dissect me? Caesar seemed to be talking to himself.

    Freesia said with difficulty, I don't know why they did it.

    I suppose they want to know how I'm constructed and build some more holy sons like me to take to war. Caesar asked himself, Do you know why they don't use you?

    Why?

    Because you cry so much. Caesar reached up and wiped a hand carelessly across his face, filling it with wet tears.

    Celand held his breath and hurriedly wiped away his tears, embarrassed and ashamed, and he couldn't understand why he was set up like this, why all symbiotes couldn't all be as brave as Caesar.

    What would happen if we stayed locked up here? Caesar said, It's good to think about it, I can search a lot of stories to tell you, my search function is quite advanced, do you know about oilbell? Let me tell you a story written by him first today, once upon a time there was a worker who specialized in making particle accelerating cannons, his life was monotonous and boring, one day the worker picked up an electronic cat on the street, the cat had nine tails, each of which could be catapulted to strangle a person to death, the worker decided to bring the cat back home, cleaned it up properly, and brought it to the auction, so that he would never have to make particle accelerating cannons again, but the first day of bringing the cat back on the first day, the cat strangled his wife, and the worker thought, That's not so bad."

    Before Caesar could finish his story, the closed door opened, and a person was thrown in, and fell with a bang on the floor, and Freesia was startled, and looked down at the floor with Caesar. Lying on the floor was a girl, her hair short and dyed a very pretty shade of baby blue, her nose was bruised and swollen, her sparkling purple skirt was torn, the electrified glass tube on it flickered and flickered, and the LOVE, which consisted of glass tubes, was half broken, and only the letters VE were left, emitting a bright pinkish-red light.

    The girl coughed a few times, managed to catch her breath, and began to swear at the door, which had not yet been closed tightly, and Freeland had never heard so much swearing before, and could not comprehend it at all, and for a moment her brain was almost on the spot, and she looked at her with a dull gaze.

    Caesar rushed to cover Freeland's ears, and all Freeland saw was her mouth moving around for about five minutes before she stopped. Caesar looked at her warily and she turned to glare at Caesar, What? What are you looking at?

    Caesar asked, Seeing as you're good looking, who are you cursing?

    Curse that fucking bitch. She barely sat up and leaned against the wall, Sooner or later you'll get what's coming to you.

    Caesar felt that she was too mentally unstable for conversation, and Freesia was still reeling from the shock of the profanity she had just used and couldn't get over it. The girl, seeing that her words went unheeded, got bored of sitting in the darkness for a while and began to make conversation to them, Are you guys locked up because you want to leave too?

    We? Caesar said indifferently, We don't want to go.

    Why don't you want to go! She took a few sharp breaths and covered her chest with a few coughs, I have to go anyway, this place sucks, I'm going to District 2, District 2 is great.

    There was a little wistful look on her face, more confused, I don't actually know if District 2 is any good, but surely it'll be better than here?

    Neither Caesar nor Lesser Celand understood her words; in their consciousness, their destiny was to accept, never to actively harm humans, never to disobey their orders, and the only way was to keep accepting until they were scrapped and couldn't be used anymore.

    I will be free. The girl gritted her teeth and said, I will be free.

    What does freedom mean? Freesia asked.

    Freedom is doing whatever you want! She raised her voice, What's not to understand about that?

    I really don't know much about it. Freesia said.

    The room fell silent again.

    After about twelve hours, the door was opened and someone was taking Caesar away, and Freeland clutched Caesar's hand to keep him from leaving, the only resistance he could muster.

    It doesn't matter. Caesar reassured him, I'll come back for you, I promise.

    They'll hurt you. Ran started to choke on the third word and he forced himself to hold it back, I don't want them to hurt you, I'm built the same way you are, let me go.

    But I'll be fixed.

    What if we stay locked up? We are not free. Freeland used his newly learned word, We can't go wherever we want, and I can't find anyone to fix you.

    I'm strong. A smile floated up on Caesar's pretty face, gangly, revealing a sharp tiger tooth, I'm not going to shed a tear if I'm stronger than you anyway.

    But then again. Caesar cupped his chin and looked closer into his eyes, Why are you crying? Do you have glands?

    Freesia licked her lips a little nervously as she got closer to him, and answered him, You have glands too, so maybe it's just a function of something like--something like expressing emotion.

    This stuff is useless to me. Caesar let go and rubbed his head carelessly twice, Wait for me to come back.

Chapter 3

    The door was slammed shut, and Lesser Celand felt a great fear; he did not know what other abuse Caesar would receive today, or if he would come back to him alive.

    Don't worry, no one will get killed. The girl who had slept for almost ten hours was stretching, and said vaguely, At most a beating, there are very few boys here, they can't afford to just get them killed.

    Celand was silent, not listening to her words, his thoughts were confused now, the pain in Caesar's eyes when he was hurt lingered, the word freedom kept flashing in his mind again, he thought in a confused way, freedom? Freedom to do whatever he wanted? Were such things really allowed? These two words completely overturned Ran's worldview.

    Haven't asked your name yet, what's yours? The girl chimed in, striking up a conversation with him.

    My name is Freesia Ran.

    Real name! Who asked you for your stage name? I'm also called Sayuri. She said, Okay then, I'll start, my name is Leigo, I'm from the Fallen Territories, I escaped on my own, awesome, right?

    Regal waited for a compliment from Freesia, but waited for nothing; Freesia had no idea what the Fallen Territories were like, or how difficult it would be to escape from them.

    You've never seen a fallout area, have you? Where were you born?

    Freeland didn't want to think about the torture Caesar was suffering at the moment, so he had to talk to her to divert his attention, I was born in an underground factory in Sector 3, and then sent to a munitions supply depot.

    Going to see the gate child?

    No, sent away for storage. Freesia said, I was a robot, military, and then there was no war going on, so I was sent away for storage.

    Regal screamed, Robots!

    She swooped in to touch Freesia's face, saying as