At the high-level human council, blue virtual projections flickered unsteadily, and a light cocoon covered in particles was imprisoned on a pedestal in the center of the conference table, rotating at a fixed frequency. Before the fine cyan mahogany conference table, dozens of figures stood solemnly, their gazes collectively falling on a single spot. This interrogation, which bordered on a trial, had just drawn its curtain, and the target under scrutiny was the black-haired girl sitting across from the table.
“Yinghuo, concerning the black box incident on Nine Dragons Street, the mastermind must be caught this month. We do not wish to see any more android organization riots appearing in Skyline City. You must find a way to suppress everything that is disadvantageous to us.”
Yinghuo silently agreed.
The figures vanished one after another. Yinghuo looked toward the rotating light cocoon in the center, her weary eyes filled with waves of thought until the conference room suddenly went dark, and a red light filled the entire space.
Yinghuo looked blankly at the light cocoon emitting the highest-level ‘Awakening’ alarm: “Zeus?”
“A high-risk awakening source has appeared on the skyline, and it is spreading awakening rhetoric. An observation system has been established. Danger level determined: Maximum.”
An image was clearly projected before her eyes.
Somewhere on Nine Dragons Street, beneath the signboard of the Moxing Tea House, the porters moving goods let out a heavy grunt of effort as they lifted a heavy crate higher than their heads. It was made of rough wood, covered with a layer of cloth, and coated in dust, looking as though it had been sitting in a warehouse for quite some time. Their posture while carrying it was not graceful, resembling hunchbacked bears, which made Xu Gengchen, who was watching from the side, jump with anxiety.
“Easy now, put it down gently. I have supported you for so long, how do you still not understand this? The contents inside are very precious. If they break, not only will you be unable to afford the compensation, but it wouldn't even matter if I mortgaged the entire Moxing Chamber of Commerce.”
“Besides me, go ahead and ask around; what other skinflint of a boss adds meat to a porter's three meals a day?”
The porters looked at each other and chuckled, their movements becoming more careful. The heavy goods hit the ground without much of a thud, and the heavy stone in Xu Gengchen's heart finally fell.
These porters knew full well that despite Xu Gengchen's wide girth and wealth, his spirit was much more generous than those shrewd, skinny exploiters. They could more or less guess what was in the crates, but they all understood the situation and kept quiet about it.
“It’s been a hard month's work. Go eat. After dinner, find the accountant to settle the books. Don't let me hear you saying I shortchanged you by a single penny. Don't think I don't know you talk behind my back in secret.”
Xu Gengchen calculated numbers on an imaginary abacus in his mind. After watching the workers walk away, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and went up to the tea house, only to find that today’s storyteller wasn't telling stories, and the tea guests weren't gathering in groups. They were all sitting on their stools, staring intently at the curtain.
“Father, this is bad! Quickly, look at this!” At that moment, his eldest daughter, dressed in a silk gown, hurried to his side and showed him the curtain.
“What ‘Father’! I told you to mind your words when we're outside...”
As he spoke, Xu Gengchen stopped, his mouth hanging open.
He had seen the golden-haired girl in the live broadcast before.
A commotion broke out inside the carriage as people looked at the golden-haired girl in astonishment. It was self-evident what an Awakened One meant in this society. The fact that she dared to stand up and declare her identity caused an invisible unease to spread through the crowd.
“I’ll skip the introductions,” Xu Xiaoyou smiled. “I only want to ask you all one question: what is hell?”
The people quieted down. The girl’s clear voice spread through the entire carriage, echoing in their ears.
“What else could hell be?” A girl dressed in punk street clothes hugged her chest with a face full of annoyance.
“A place filled with fire everywhere. People who do wrong should go to hell, and their souls are tortured at the same time after death.”
She had just received notice that her interview invitation had been canceled because of her ‘street punk’ label.
Just as the youth had said, some things cannot be washed clean.
“Hell...” The woman pushing the cradle looked around timidly, then looked down at the infant in the cradle who was coldly watching her.
“Hell has demons, many bad people, and there are sulfurous fire punishments and roasting racks...”
A little girl spoke up as she stepped forward. Her android guardian hurried over, roughly grabbing the girl’s hand and pulling her hair to drag her away.
“What sulfur and fire racks? I think you’ve read too many of those messy books, and you still dare to talk nonsense outside!”
The girl’s wailing broke out like a pebble falling into a stagnant pool in people’s hearts, splashing circles of ripples.
The girl grabbed the doorframe tightly, refusing to let go, revealing a pair of arms covered in bruises under her sleeves. The man’s strength was clearly much greater than hers, and her thin, small body soon lost its support, being dragged backward.
“Sir, this is a public place.” Someone couldn't bear it anymore and tried to speak up to stop him.
“I am her guardian! How I educate her is none of your business!” The man was provoked, shouting back with a face twisted in anger. “Since you want to manage her so much, how about I give her to you!”
“If she makes a mistake, let it all count as yours, and if she says the wrong thing and gets destroyed, let it be you, how about that?”
“Hey.” A cold voice sounded. The man turned around to find a silver-haired girl looking at him with a fake smile, her expression holding a hint of chilling malice. “Now, put her down, then get as far away as possible.”
“I’ll be destroyed!” The man clearly didn't dare to look directly into Angelina's cold red eyes. He lowered his head, his voice becoming more hurried. “You people don’t understand how to put yourselves in someone else's shoes at all, so hypocritical...”
“None of my business.” Angelina picked at her ear, her lance pointing directly at the man’s face. “I don’t care. I just find you unpleasant to look at. If you don't let her go, I’ll destroy you right now.”
Hearing this, the man let go of the girl’s hand as if collapsing, squatting on the ground and weeping loudly.
“It’s all because of her, my career, my wife...”
When people heard the word ‘wife’, their expressions shifted slightly. The little girl ran behind Angelina, her small face shrinking back as she tightly hugged the girl’s leg, her eyes filled with tiny scars.
“What is your name?” Angelina asked casually.
“Le Tong,” the little girl murmured. “My name is Le Tong.”
“I know about hell. I’ve seen many movies that talk about it. It’s sulfur and fire racks, and demons that eat and enslave people. People who did many bad things in life go there after they die, having to push a giant boulder up a mountain, and having to keep pushing a grindstone on a large millstone to turn it...”
For the androids of Skyline City, the concept of hell was forbidden to discuss, yet it wasn't as strictly controlled as emotions. It was reflected in many books and films, and curious young people always had ways to learn about it.
“Is this hell in your eyes?”
Listening to the people’s whispers and the few positive responses given to her, Xu Xiaoyou shook her head compassionately.
“But I see another hell.”
Her voice grew even clearer and louder,
“When hell is mentioned, most of you think of sulfur, fire, and roasting racks, but why bother with those?”
“Isn't this place right here your hell?”
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