The Black-Hearted Boss Milluki and His Body Pillow

A sharp pain shot through his inner thigh.

Then a powerful current surged through his entire body.

"Fuck!"

Bai Zhu sprang out of bed. Before he had even steadied half his body, his right hand instinctively reached for the Zanpakuto in his system space.

Focusing his eyes, he saw a Mechanical Spider with a metal shell crawling down along the edge of the blanket, blue arcs of electricity crackling from its abdomen.

With his hair a complete mess, Bai Zhu cursed at the top of his lungs.

"You dead fatass! Do you even know what labor laws are?! Waking someone up with electrotherapy in the middle of the night? Even those Myanmar scam compounds wouldn't dare pull this!"

Milluki sat before a wall of screens without turning around.

"If you're awake, get out of bed."

Bai Zhu sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the blanket. His face had regained a little color compared to when he had first been dragged back, though it was only slightly less deathly pale.

He rubbed his numb arm, his head still buzzing.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours and forty-seven minutes."

Bai Zhu clicked his tongue.

"Even a production brigade donkey gets a chance to catch its breath."

"At least a production brigade donkey wouldn't cripple itself outside the enemy camp, then make someone else clean up its mess while holding their nose." Milluki shot back without mercy.

Bai Zhu fell silent.

There was no arguing with that.

He lowered his head and looked at the bandages wrapped around him like twisted hemp rope.

The bandaging was wildly unrestrained, and the stench of disinfectant was painfully sharp.

"With bandaging skills like that, the patient's family would beat you to death with sticks in a hospital." Bai Zhu tugged at the gauze cutting into his flesh.

The keyboard clacking stopped.

"Then do you want me to take them off and redo them?" Danger dripped from Milluki's voice.

"No, no. They're pretty distinctive. They really suit my current vibe." Bai Zhu immediately surrendered.

Milluki spun his chair around and dragged the main surveillance feed directly in front of Bai Zhu.

"See for yourself."

Bai Zhu looked up.

The surveillance footage was aimed at the underground entrance beside the church ruins. The black-robed believers who had originally gathered there had already left.

In their place, a squad of heavily armored figures emerged one after another from the underground passage.

They wore full suits of black iron armor and marched in perfect formation. There was no chatter and no unnecessary movement. Even through the screen, their oppressive presence was palpable.

Worse still, each of them had a thumb-sized Black Crystal embedded in their chest. It came from the same source as the Holy Stone Shard Bai Zhu had burned earlier, but the energy fluctuations it emitted were far steadier.

The last remnants of Bai Zhu's sleepiness vanished completely.

"Who are these metal cans playing medieval cosplay?"

Milluki's fingers flew over the keyboard as he enlarged part of the image.

"Holy Knights."

Bai Zhu stroked his chin.

"Religious organizations are upgrading their business model pretty fast these days, huh? Pyramid-scheme rhetoric paired with high-tech gear, and now they've even got a fully armed internal security force?"

"Cut the crap." Milluki had no time for his jokes. "We intercepted underground communications. The old man determined that the fire-wielding heretic on the surface hadn't left town yet, so he sent this armed guard unit out to search the streets."

Bai Zhu pointed at his own nose.

"They're looking for me?"

"Who else would they be looking for, me? You burned their precious treasure in front of hundreds of people, acted cool, and ran off. If they don't arrest you, who are they supposed to arrest?"

Bai Zhu sighed.

"The logic is airtight, but I refuse to accept it."

Ignoring his protest, Milluki pulled up an aerial view of the town.

Several blocks had been marked with red circles, while red dots spread outward in a fan-shaped formation.

"These metal cans don't know we're at the inn yet. The underground side hasn't found Big Brother's trail, so Ella is safe for now."

Bai Zhu studied the routes of the red dots on the screen, his mind racing.

If those people kept up their carpet search, it was only a matter of time before they reached this rundown inn.

Once the inn was exposed and Milluki, their intelligence hub, was taken out, Illumi underground would become blind. The entire plan would be lost.

Bai Zhu threw off the blanket and planted his feet on the ground.

"Got it. You need me to act as mobile bait and lead them away."

The moment Bai Zhu stood upright, his calf cramped and he pitched forward. He hurriedly grabbed the edge of the bedside table, baring his teeth in pain.

"Damn it. You really are using me as a suicide squad member."

Milluki turned his head and looked at Bai Zhu's pale face and trembling legs. His Adam's apple bobbed.

The curse on his lips circled once, then he forcibly swallowed it.

"You don't need to fight them head-on." Milluki's voice lowered.

Bai Zhu raised his eyes in surprise.

Milluki immediately shifted his gaze back to the screen full of code.

"Lead them around in circles. Don't let them get near this street, and preferably get them out of town. Big Brother is preparing for the final move. He needs time."

Leaning against the cabinet, Bai Zhu slowly caught his breath.

"Now that sounds a little more human."

"Get out."

"Sure thing."

Bai Zhu grabbed his coat and turned toward the door.

After only two steps, he suddenly stopped.

Milluki immediately became alert.

"What now?!"

Bai Zhu said nothing. He lowered his head and examined the life-sized body pillow he had been lying on.

It was printed with a scantily dressed anime girl in a battle-damaged outfit, wearing a shy expression and sporting a truly astounding figure.

Bai Zhu crossed his arms and studied it for a full three seconds, his tone filled with reverence.

"Milluki, you're bold."

The flesh on Milluki's face twitched violently.

"Shut up!"

"I used to want to buy one of these, but I could never bring myself to do it. I was afraid I'd die of embarrassment the moment it arrived. Yet you've got yours out in the open?" Bai Zhu pointed at the body pillow, his eyes full of envy.

"This is a temporary command center, not a living room!" Milluki's voice cracked in his urgency.

"What's the difference? Either way, it's put out for people to admire."

"The difference is huge!!!"

Bai Zhu bent over, smoothed out the wrinkles in the pillow, and casually patted the printed anime girl on the head.

"Don't worry. I was half-asleep just now. I definitely didn't drool on her."

"You fucking wanted to drool on her?!" Milluki's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"The fact that I didn't is proof of my exceptionally high moral standards. No need to thank me."

Milluki completely snapped and slapped a hand down on the console.

"Touch her again and see what happens! I'll broadcast your coordinates to every metal shell out there!"

Bai Zhu swiftly pulled back his hand, his face solemn.

"This young lady made an indelible contribution to stabilizing my mental state. I will remember her forever."

"Get out--!"

"Look at you, getting all worked up."

Unable to endure any longer, Milluki raised his foot and kicked beneath the desk.

Two black metal boxes the size of palms slid across the floor and stopped beside Bai Zhu's feet.

They made two dull thuds.

Bai Zhu looked down.

"What goodies are these?"

"Open them yourself." Milluki sounded annoyed.

Bai Zhu bent down and flipped open the lids.

Inside the boxes lay six black-shelled rhinoceros beetles, arranged neatly.

They were a size larger than ordinary rhinoceros beetles. Their outer shells were covered in extremely tiny, intricate patterns, and a faint dark red glow seeped from their abdomens.

They made no unnecessary movements, lying lifelessly in their foam compartments.

Bai Zhu raised an eyebrow.

"You've got quite the variety of mechanical pets."

"Exploding Beetles." Milluki lowered his voice, his earlier irritation gone.

"They aren't like those Scouting Spiders and Exploding Mosquitoes used for reconnaissance. These are pure offensive weapons, designed specifically for Nen users."

Bai Zhu's finger, which had been about to poke a shell, froze in midair.

"How powerful?"

"If one explodes right in your face, even an ordinary Nen user using Ken for defense would die on the spot. Even at a slightly greater distance, it can blow someone into a cripple."

Bai Zhu immediately snapped the lid shut and stuffed the box into his pocket.

"Fuck, you should've said that sooner! I almost started playing with it using my hand."

"They recognize my commands right now." Milluki typed several lines of code into the keyboard. "I've given you temporary voice-activation authorization."

A brief red flash shone from inside the metal box. Verification passed.

"Don't use them carelessly. The buildings in town are too densely packed, and there are too many civilians and innocent believers. If one goes off, you definitely won't be able to escape either."

Milluki stared at the screen.

"Besides, harming uninvolved people isn't how our family does business."

Bai Zhu held the metal box in his pocket, and the playful grin on his face slowly faded.

He knew exactly how much weight that thing carried.

The operation underground was still underway.

This inn, this crucial node, absolutely could not be taken out.

Milluki could not move.

Giving him one of these last-resort killing weapons was equivalent to Milluki forcibly handing Bai Zhu's half-crippled body a trump card to save his life.

Bai Zhu fastened his coat.

He turned toward the door and grabbed the handle.

"Excellent service. I'll owe you a five-star review for now."