“Looks like it’s poisonous,” Yaeger remarked calmly, returning the food she had almost eaten to her bowl. Her gaze shifted to Little Blue, who was doubled over and vomiting white foam.
“Ugh! It’s awful! Sweet, spicy, and... detergent?! Chef Number One, what on earth did you put in this food?” Little Blue groaned, spitting out the noxious bite she had taken. Her complaints came to a halt when she noticed the amused smirk on Yaeger’s face.
“Ma... Master, it’s just a minor error! I understand now—it must’ve been a glitch in the training. I’ll fix it immediately!” Little Blue stammered, quickly covering her tracks.
With that, she darted toward Chef Number One and began fiddling with it in an exaggerated attempt to appear busy.
“I’m dead... I’m so dead...” Vera 17 slumped onto the table, her face pale as a sheet and her eyes rolling back weakly. The sizable bite she had taken appeared to have thoroughly poisoned her.
“Hallelujah! Stay away! I don’t believe in religion!” Vera 18 shouted hysterically, her arms flailing wildly as she closed her eyes.
“You call this cooking...?” Yaeger muttered, her lips twitching as she observed their extreme reactions.
Fifteen minutes later, Little Blue finished her so-called adjustments.
“Master, it’s perfect this time! I stake my reputation on it!” Little Blue declared confidently, tapping her chest with pride.
Hearing this, the now-recovered Vera 17 and Vera 18 were immediately filled with a sense of dread. They had a sinking feeling that things would go horribly wrong again.
“Really? Let’s test it again, then,” Yaeger said, her tone calm yet expectant. No matter what, Chef Number One needed to work properly. Otherwise, the entire kitchen setup would be pointless.
‘There’s no way I’m going out to buy food for them every single day,’ Yaeger thought.
In truth, Yaeger was something of an introvert. She preferred to stay home whenever she could. After all, wasn’t it wonderful to spend every day at home playing games?
Half an hour later, Chef Number One presented the table with a fresh spread of dishes. The puppet’s efficiency was undeniable, but the question remained—how would the food taste?
Vera 17 and Vera 18 eyed the table laden with delicious-looking dishes, their faces pale with lingering trauma.
“Come on, dig in! Don’t be shy,” Little Blue urged enthusiastically.
Yaeger smiled faintly but made no move to pick up her chopsticks. The other two followed her lead, equally hesitant.
“I said, eat!” Little Blue demanded, exerting her authority as the self-proclaimed leader.
“I did it! I finally calibrated Chef Number One! From now on, the kitchen is my domain! Hahaha!” Little Blue declared triumphantly, her voice tinged with manic energy. Despite her bold proclamation, her exhausted expression and bloated stomach betrayed the struggles she had endured throughout the night.
“Is it perfect now?” Yaeger asked softly as she approached.
“Master, I did it! It wasn’t easy... not at all... Waaaah!” Little Blue cried, her voice cracking as emotion overwhelmed her. Suddenly, Little Blue threw herself at Yaeger’s leg, clinging to her thigh as tears streamed down her face in an unrestrained display of emotion.
No one could guess just how much poison Little Blue had consumed throughout the night.
After Little Blue and the others recovered, Yaeger joined them for a modest breakfast that, while edible, was far from delicious.
“Gulp, gulp. Ah, I feel alive again!” Vera 17 exclaimed dramatically after chugging half a can of soda to wash down the fried egg on her plate, as if she had just survived a life-threatening ordeal.
Vera 18 wasn’t much better off, sporting a similarly exhausted yet relieved expression.
“Little Blue, any updates on Vera’s side?” Yaeger asked, setting down her chopsticks and dabbing her mouth with a napkin.
“Let me check!” Little Blue replied, tapping her fingers in the air to summon a virtual screen. Her fingers moved rapidly across the screen, as though she were operating a complex system.
After about fifteen seconds, she paused and turned to Yaeger. “Master, Vera isn’t up to anything new. But...” She trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.
“But what?” Yaeger prompted.
“But I found something interesting in the customs and immigration records.” As she spoke, she enlarged the virtual screen and began playing a video. Yaeger, Vera 17, and Vera 18 leaned in, watching intently.
The footage was from the immigration office’s surveillance system. Technically, this footage had been deleted.
“Heheh, I restored it,” Little Blue announced proudly.
The trio exchanged puzzled glances. Their confusion vanished as soon as the person on the screen came into view.
“Ah, it’s Vera Number Three!” Vera 18 exclaimed, pointing at the screen.
“The other two next to her must be Number Two and Number One,” Vera 17 added, though her tone was hesitant.
“Master, it looks like one of them deleted this footage. Also, the immigration records have been tampered with,” Little Blue explained.
“Three Vera clones and twelve Transcendents. Very good. Very, very good,” Yaeger said, a cheerful smile spreading across her face. To Yaeger, the three Vera [Doppelgängers] were the main prize, while the rest of the group was nothing more than cannon fodder.
⇐ PreviousNext ⇒ Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)MoreClick to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)Like Loading...
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login