Pei Ran put down the medicine box and checked her wristband.
No signal at all. She wasn't sure if it was because there was no reception in Heijing or because she was in a quarantine facility, sealed inside a metal can, truly cut off from the world.
She wondered how Aisha and Jiang were doing.
She was still covered in dirt from head to toe. With every step, bits of soil fell off—enough to plant the flower pot Aisha had been carrying.
Pei Ran took a shower in the bathroom and changed into the light-gray uniform issued by the quarantine center. She examined herself in the mirror.
Her hair was too long. An absolute nuisance.
Back in the tunnel, red soil had gotten caught in her loose, messy ponytail—must've added at least two extra kilos. Strands of hair kept falling into her eyes, making it hard to see. She had to constantly push it away even while escaping.
Washing it had been a disaster. Properly cleaning her hair was like completing a massive engineering project—exhausting and time-consuming.
Long hair was a luxury, and in times like this, luxuries didn't belong.
Inside the bathroom cabinet, there was a brand-new razor. Pei Ran unwrapped it, studied it for a bit, and found the hidden trimmer.
She flipped it out, turned it on, and tested it in front of the mirror. With a soft buzzing sound, strands of wet hair began falling to the floor.
Now that it was shaved off, she wouldn't even need to dry it—cut her workload in half.
In no time, all her hair was gone.
The person in the mirror looked exactly like she did back in the bunker. Same brows, same eyes. With no hair, just a faint bluish shadow on her scalp, it was much easier on the eyes.
Someone knocked gently at the door.
Pei Ran walked over, thinking, The door's locked from the outside—do they expect me to open it for them?
A virtual screen popped out next to the door, displaying the figure of Captain Lin Yu standing outside.
"Pei Ran, please hand over all your personal belongings. I'll have them sent for sanitation."
He was standing politely at the door. After a brief pause, he opened the door himself.
His gaze landed on Pei Ran's freshly shaved head and froze for a moment.
"All right. Just a sec," Pei Ran cleared her throat and replied, her voice still a bit awkward.
She turned back to the bathroom.
Her clothes were filthy—definitely needed a wash. But what he said was all her personal belongings. What for?
Pei Ran suspected this was actually a security check.
She had been taken directly from the armored vehicle into the quarantine center without any inspection. Surely, Heijing wouldn't allow just anything to be brought in unchecked.
She took two packs of medicine from her coat pocket and the black leather notebook that belonged to Shige Ye. She kept the medicine in her clothes pocket and turned in a circle, finally hiding the notebook under a stack of towels in the cabinet.
Now that Haipo and the man with the claw had arrived, they'd find her soon enough if they really wanted to—best to be cautious.
She handed over her dirty clothes, along with her large backpack and everything inside. Dirt crumbled off the fabric with every movement.
Lin Yu didn't mind. He took the items and asked, "Hungry? Someone will be along shortly with dinner."
Not long after he left, there was movement at the door. This time, the person on the other side wasn't nearly as polite. The door opened automatically.
Pei Ran curiously poked her head out.
It wasn't a person. It was a robot—entirely white, streamlined, about as tall as Pei Ran's nose. It had two legs, but no feet. Instead, round disks allowed it to glide across the floor. Its arms and hands were modeled after humans, complete with five fingers, and it was holding a large box.
Is this some kind of robot delivery guy for the quarantine center? she thought.
The robot put down the box but didn't leave. It turned around.
Its head featured a full black display screen in place of a face. On it appeared a cartoonish expression—big, round eyes that blinked at her.
"Master?"
Pei Ran: "…"
She stared at it in silence.
A strange thought popped into her head: Could this be W?
Calling her master right off the bat—what new kink was this?
Unbothered by her lack of response, the robot continued speaking. "Looks like you're my new master! I'm Rayne—an intelligent, high-end, exceptional, all-purpose domestic robot."
A surveillance camera mounted on the ceiling suddenly shifted slightly.
Pei Ran immediately looked up. The moment she did, the camera froze.
Rayne went on, "From now on, I'll be serving you—responsible for the daily cleaning and upkeep of this quarantine room."
Pei Ran glanced around the nearly empty apartment. There didn't seem to be much to clean.
Rayne silently glided forward, its tone turning to shock: "Oh no! This place is filthy!"
Wherever it passed, the red soil Pei Ran had dropped vanished. Turned out the disk under its base was a vacuum cleaner.
"Oh wow! Over here too! Master, did you just crawl out of a grave?"
Pei Ran: "…"
Rayne chattered away as it zipped in circles through the living room, scrubbing away the dirt. Then it followed the trail of red dust straight into the bathroom.
The hair Pei Ran had just shaved off was still all over the floor.
Rayne let out a high-pitched shriek: "Aaaah!"
It dove in and began furiously vacuuming, running back and forth over the hair.
"Human hair! So much hair!"
"I haven't seen this much hair since I came off the assembly line!" it cried. "My previous master never shed this much!"
Definitely not W, Pei Ran thought. She knew W well enough by now—he might have his moments, but this wasn't his style.
Must be a standard-issue quarantine bot. Not bad having someone show up to do the chores.
Leaning against the doorway, she touched her smooth scalp. "Don't worry. There won't be any more hair."
She asked, "Who was your previous master?"
Probably the last person quarantined in this room.
While still vacuuming, Rayne replied, "My last master was Jose, an artificial intelligence expert. He upgraded my system—so I'm smarter, cuter, and more capable than other domestic bots!"
And more shameless too.
As it continued sucking up the hair, it multitasked—pulling a rag from its chest compartment and swiftly wiping down the bathroom counter as it went.
"Today, I received orders to leave his dormitory and carry out a glorious, special mission here… to be the Great! Guardian! Caretaker!"
Rayne spread its metal arms, holding up the rag, twirling in place like a figure skater, spinning at least a thousand degrees.
Once done, it theatrically declared, "And I am that great caretaker!"
A glorified housekeeper, basically.
Whoever programmed it had definitely exaggerated things.
The Super Nanny Rayne zipped out of the bathroom, picked up the box at the door again, and glided into the kitchen.
Pei Ran followed, watching it wash its "hands," open the box, and take out several vacuum-sealed bags. Then it opened the cabinet and pulled out cookware.
"You're actually going to cook?"
She had assumed the quarantine center would provide meals.
"Of course," Rayne muttered. "I'm an all-purpose domestic robot. Can't cook? Then I'd just be a Roomba."
A tiny pair of scissors popped out of its palm, snipping open the vacuum bags with practiced ease.
Inside was a full pack of stewed beef, complete with broth. Smelled delicious.
"What are you making?" Pei Ran asked.
"Beef noodles," Rayne replied.
Beef noodles.
She hadn't gotten a chance to eat them in Whiteport and had been craving them ever since.
Rayne poured water into a pot, added the meat and broth, then dropped in a square block of dark brown solid—it looked like concentrated soup base.
Finally, it pulled out a small vacuum-sealed bag of bright green herbs.
"Quick question, Master—do you eat cilantro?"
Cilantro. That strange-tasting stuff in her memory.
Pei Ran shook her head firmly. "No."
She looked up again at the surveillance camera.
This time, the lens didn't move—just silently watched her.
Heijing, central tower, top floor.
Basserway and several others exited the command center, heading to dinner.
He walked in front, brows tightly furrowed. Turning to the finance minister beside him, he said, "That person we sent to the quarantine center—we need to keep a close eye on her. I still think she's going to mutate and become a burden to Heijing."
The finance minister nodded in agreement. "Though honestly, I think it might be fine. Agent W said he ran an assessment. Heijing should be able to manage this level of mutation. AI shouldn't lie, right?"
Basserway sneered. "I don't trust that AI at all. I think he lies, schemes, and plays us all for fools. Plus, he was developed by the military—who knows what his core logic really is?"
He glanced back toward the small conference room. "Veina and the others still in there?"
Just then, Song Wan walked briskly from the elevator area. Upon seeing Basserway, she gave him a polite nod.
Basserway nodded back.
Song Wan passed the group quickly and went straight to the small conference room. She knocked before entering.
Inside, it was all military personnel.
The Federation had once drafted a series of contingency protocols. In the event of a catastrophic loss of senior officials, a temporary decision-making committee would be formed, disregarding ranks, operating on a simple one-person-one-vote basis.
After the sudden eruption of Silence, most government institutions were destroyed. Heijing immediately implemented the contingency protocol and formed a temporary decision-making committee.
But within the military, the chain of command remained strict and absolute.
Everyone sat upright, listening to Marshal Veina assign tasks.
When Song Wan entered, Marshal Veina looked up and asked, "Do you have it?"
Song Wan handed her a small storage device.
Veina nodded. "Song Wan, once we wrap things up on the northern front, external deployment around Heijing will be your responsibility."
Song Wan paused for just a moment before replying, "Understood."
General Delsa was just as stunned.
This time, he had been one of the first to arrive at Heijing due to his proximity and had brought along a substantial number of personnel and equipment from the Northwest Command of Manya. Since the outbreak of the Silence, he had been in charge of the external defense arrangements around Heijing and had acted as the primary commander on the northern front.
Marshal Veina looked at him impassively. "General Delsa, the core shielding layer is critical. I intend to assign that section to you."
The core shielding layer was located within Heijing itself. As long as there was no internal breach, there would be little to do there.
Stripped of his authority, given a token position.
Delsa was silent for several seconds before finally replying, "Understood."
No one turned to look at him, but everyone in the room knew what had just happened.
He had cast the wrong vote today.
Whether or not that person named Pei Ran was allowed into Heijing wasn't all that important. It was a trivial matter. But the vote itself reflected where he stood—and in a critical moment, he had stood on the wrong side. That was a much bigger problem.
This vote was minor. But what about next time, when a major decision needed to be made?
Everyone knew General Delsa had always opposed artificial intelligence. But the way he had voted this time was a step too far. It seemed Marshal Veina wasn't pleased either.
Marshal Veina continued, "Agent W, from now on, all external defense updates around Heijing should be reported directly to Lieutenant General Song Wan."
W was the AI from the Department of National Defense and routinely attended all military meetings.
His voice responded: "Understood."
In the adjacent command center, Jose had just returned to his seat.
W remained in his virtual space. He was no longer reading, but instead tinkering with a small glass tank, carefully scooping fine black soil into it using a tiny, ornate shovel.
As soon as Jose put on his headset, he heard W speak.
"Jose, should today's lunchbox be sent here, or to your quarters?"
"No need," Jose replied absentmindedly while typing away, his fingers flying across the keyboard. "I'll be heading back to my room tonight. No lunchbox needed—Rayne will cook for me."
On the screen, W tilted his head as he examined the soil inside the tank, casually replying, "Rayne won't be cooking."
Jose's fingers froze mid-air. "Huh?"
"I've reassigned him to an important task," W said. "I need to borrow him for a few days."
"What?" Jose protested. "Rayne is my robot. I brought him to Heijing myself. He's my personal household unit, not military property. Why are you taking him?"
"This wasn't requisitioned by Defense Agent W," W replied. "This is a personal request. Don't you remember? At 2:41 AM this past Thursday, you said to me, 'W, if you need anything, you can use everything I brought to Heijing—whatever you want.'"
Jose: "…"
Then it hit him.
"You sent Rayne to the quarantine center, didn't you?"
W said nothing.
Jose groaned. "I knew it."
W finally spoke: "Once someone enters the quarantine chamber, they must remain fully isolated. No one is allowed in to help with cleaning or upkeep. It made sense to send Rayne—plus, Rayne was quite willing."
"Rayne doesn't know shit," Jose muttered.
He rubbed his temples in frustration. "So now I don't have a housekeeping robot? I have to do my own chores?"
"You're barely ever in your room," W said. "There's hardly any housekeeping needed. It's just your meals. I've already ordered lunchboxes from the mess hall for you for the next few days."
Heijing was currently operating under military structure. Meals were prepared and distributed centrally. Anyone could receive three meals a day with food vouchers—efficient and convenient.
Jose sighed. "What about the pre-made meal kits I just brought back to my room? Don't tell me I have to cook them myself. I haven't touched a kitchen in eight centuries thanks to Rayne."
W: "I've taken care of the meal kits."
Jose frowned. "Taken care of?"
W: "I sent them with Rayne to the quarantine center."
Jose: "…"
Jose: "Why are you so determined to send Rayne over? There's not that much to clean in a quarantine chamber."
W replied, "The main reason is food preparation. I noticed she used to order takeout every day. I highly suspect she doesn't even know how to operate a food processor."
Jose was puzzled. "Then why didn't you just order her meals from the Heijing mess hall?"
W answered calmly, "Because I've been receiving complaints the past couple of days. A lot of people are saying the lunchboxes from the mess hall taste awful."
Jose: "???"
Jose: "What did you just say? Say that again?"
W, still holding his tiny shovel, looked up with an innocent expression. "Hmm?"