A whole week had passed since that night.
In that short span of ti, I had beco more than just a fugitive—I was now a wanted criminal, an enemy of humanity itself. My face was plastered across every broadcast.
"The otherworlder responsible for the deaths of officers within the facility remains at large. Despite extensive efforts by the authorities, there are currently no leads regarding his whereabouts. However, rest assured, every asure is being taken to bring him to justice."
The words echoed through the streets from a massive billboard screen, the bright glow casting an eerie light over the gathered crowd. Murmurs spread like wildfire, hushed voices dripping with unease and fear. Eyes darted toward the screen, scanning my image with expressions ranging from concern to outright terror.
To them, I wasn't just a criminal—I was a monster. An anomaly that had no place in their world.
As if to solidify that notion, the portal back to Earth had been locked down, now under relentless surveillance. The guards stationed there were unlike the ones I had encountered before—these were elite forces, clad in advanced armor, wielding weapons so intricate and lethal that even a glance at them sent a chill down my spine. I had no desire to find out just how devastating their firepower was.
I exhaled slowly, leaning back against a cold tal wall, my fingers tapping idly against my thigh.
"I have to admit… this world's technology is beyond anything I could have imagined."
Earth had always prided itself on modern advancents, yet in comparison, it felt primitive. This world wasn't just ahead—it was leagues beyond, at least four tis more advanced than anything humanity had ever achieved.
For now, though, I had more pressing concerns.
I was hiding out in a modest complex—an unassuming structure that housed dozens of residents. From the outside, it looked like any ordinary apartnt building, blending seamlessly into the city's urban landscape. It was precisely why I had chosen it. Crowds offered anonymity, and anonymity was survival.
I stepped up to a familiar door and knocked lightly before entering. Almost imdiately, the rich, mouthwatering aroma of sizzling oil and seared at filled the air.
Fried food?
The scent was thick and savory, clinging to the walls, teasing my senses. A mont later, the door swung open.
"Welco back, Master."
A woman stood before , her voice smooth and lodious. She wore a crisp maid uniform, her delicate hands gripping a ladle. But what caught my attention—what always caught my attention—was her.
She was breathtaking.
Long, silky hair frad her flawless face, her piercing eyes holding an unreadable depth. Her curves were sculpted to perfection, an impossible blend of elegance and seduction. She was the kind of woman who seed as if she had been plucked straight out of a dream, the embodint of unattainable beauty.
an absolute bombshell of a woman, the kind that seed almost too perfect to exist. The idea of soone like her waiting at ho, cooking als, and addressing as 'Master' was unreal.
But, of course, she wasn't human.
This world's technological marvels extended far beyond simple machines. Here, artificial beings weren't just a concept—they were an integral part of society. Automata had been created to surpass human limitations, designed not only for companionship but for reproduction as well. Their bodies mimicked life in every way, down to the warmth of their skin and the beating of their synthetic hearts. So were even built with functioning wombs, capable of bearing children. Naturally, male automata existed as well, further solidifying their integration into society.
And the woman standing before —Anne—was one of them.
She was mine.
"The food is ready," she announced with a gentle bow. "Would you like to serve your al and prepare your bath as well?"
I nodded, rolling my shoulders. "Yes. Oh, and keep the portion smaller this ti."
"As you wish," she replied, her voice unwavering, her expression serene.
With a graceful turn, she disappeared into the kitchen, leaving standing in the doorway. The scent of fried food lingered in the air, but now, it was accompanied by sothing else—sothing warm, sothing dangerously close to comfort.
"How long am I destined to remain in this world?"
That question had plagued my mind countless tis.
It had been three months since my arrival. Three months since I entered this world. At first, I had been nothing more than a prisoner—a caged specin, locked away in a sterile facility like an animal waiting to be dissected. But now? Now, I was sothing else entirely.
A fugitive.
A shadow on the run. A specter that the authorities were desperate to hunt down.
Returning to my world was nothing more than a distant dream at this point. The portal that could take back was under heavy surveillance, guarded by weapons whose destructive capabilities I didn't care to find out.
As I stepped further into the dimly lit apartnt, my gaze swept the room, taking in the sight before .
Seated at the cluttered table in the living room was her.
The woman I had taken from the facility.
The very sa researcher who had sounded the alarm against —who had pressed the red button that had sent an entire swarm of enforcers to capture . And yet, here she was now, hunched over a stack of docunts, flipping through pages with a focused intensity.
She wasn't trembling in fear. She wasn't cowering in the corner, desperate for an escape.
She was… studying.
There were no chains binding her wrists. No locks keeping her confined. No looming threats hanging over her head. And still—she hadn't run.
It made no sense.
I parted my lips to speak, but before I could utter a single word, she abruptly raised a hand, silencing .
"Shh! I'm on the verge of a breakthrough," she snapped, her eyes never once leaving the pages before her.
I blinked.
What the hell?
Of all the reactions I had anticipated—terror, resistance, defiance—this wasn't one of them.
It was unnatural.
Leaning against the doorfra, I folded my arms, studying the other one who was also there, just seeping a cup of coffee. "Mind if I ask why you're so calm about all this?"
She was the one who was together with the enforcers and was about to lead sowhere. Like the researcher, she wasn't bind and chained or anything, but she didn't so much as try to escape from her.
At my question, she finally lifted her gaze.
"What, is that strange?" she mused. "Isn't it only natural that the victor claims their spoils? You won, so we have no reason to resist anymore. If anything, it's strange that you haven't done anything to us yet. Instead, you went and bought yourself an automata. A maid-programd one, at that. Not even one with combat capabilities."
She tilted her head. "I suppose even an otherworlder like you prefers automata over real won, huh? Well, the sa can be said for won, too."
Her words carried an odd weight to them, one that I couldn't quite place.
I frowned. So, this really is the law of the jungle here?
It was starting to make sense now.
This world functioned on a different set of rules—a system where the strong dictated the fates of the weak. And in a society where humans had long blurred the lines between flesh and steel, where automata were more than re machines, it seed that even companionship had beco artificial.
I had seen it with my own eyes. The brothels lined with artificial bodies, catering to custors as if they were flesh and blood. I had questioned the chanics of it at first, wondering how such a thing even worked, but in the end, I realized—perhaps they were simply cleaned afterward.
Not that I would know.
I hadn't used Anne for that kind of thing, after all.
Exhaling, I shook my head. "I suppose our values don't align. That's the beauty—and the burden—of differing customs."
To them, I was the outsider. But in truth, they were the ones foreign to .
Earth had always been a place of diversity. A world filled with different cultures, ideologies, and ways of life.
I had accepted long ago that no two people saw the world the sa way.
Still…
This entire situation was unsettling in ways I couldn't quite define.
"To be honest, I'm also here because I want to monitor you closely," she said, her tone eerily calm. "What you did back there... No ordinary person could have possibly done that. It was unnatural—beyond anything I've ever witnessed. And the way you killed... without hesitation, without rcy."
She took a slow sip from her cup before setting it down gently on the table, her gaze steady as it t mine.
"At that mont, I realized sothing."
Her voice dropped just slightly, the weight of her words pressing down like an unseen force.
"You are the most terrifying thing this world has ever known."
Across the room, the researcher remained unfazed, completely engrossed in her work, her pen scratching against the paper in steady, thodical strokes. It was as if our conversation didn't concern her in the slightest.
anwhile, the woman before leaned back in her seat, her expression unreadable.
"Right now, I can't do anything to you," she admitted. "But one day, I will."
A slow smirk tugged at her lips.
"Right now, I'm just a spoil of war. But that doesn't an I'll stay that way forever. At so point, I will do sothing you won't expect. I an... if even the most loyal automata can betray their masters, then what about a real person?"
A heavy silence settled between us.
I studied her carefully, her confidence almost admirable in its recklessness.
"You're bold," I finally said. "Saying that to my face."
She let out a quiet chuckle, tapping a finger against her cup.
"I believe in granting my enemies the rcy of knowing what will kill them."
My eyes narrowed. This woman… there was sothing seriously wrong with her.
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