Milluki, the Black-Hearted Boss, and His Body Pillow

A sharp pain shot through the root of his thigh.

Then a powerful current surged through his entire body.

"Fuck!"

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

Looking closely, 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 raised his voice and started cursing.

"You fat bastard! Do you even know what labor laws are?! Waking someone up with electrotherapy in the middle of the night—even Myanmar scam compounds wouldn't dare pull this shit!"

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, clutching 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 did I sleep?"

"Three hours and forty-seven minutes."

Bai Zhu clicked his tongue.

"Even a production brigade's donkey gets time to catch its breath."

"At least a production brigade's donkey wouldn't half-cripple itself at the enemy camp's entrance, then make someone else clean up its mess while holding their nose," Milluki shot back mercilessly.

Bai Zhu fell silent.

There was no arguing with that.

He lowered his head and looked at the bandages twisted around his body like a braid.

The bandaging was utterly wild, and the stench of disinfectant was painfully strong.

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

The keyboard clacking paused.

"Do you want me to take it off and wrap you again?" There was danger in Milluki's voice.

"No, no. It's pretty distinctive. Really suits my current vibe." Bai Zhu promptly backed down.

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 feed was aimed at the underground entrance beside the Church ruins. The black-robed believers who had gathered there were gone.

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 step. There was no chatter and no unnecessary movement. Even through the screen, their oppressive presence came through.

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 tin cans playing medieval cosplay?"

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

"Holy Knights."

Bai Zhu stroked his chin.

"Religious industry upgrades are moving fast these days, huh? Pyramid scheme rhetoric paired with high-tech gear, and now they've even got fully armed internal security troops?"

"Cut the crap." Milluki had no time for his mockery. "We intercepted underground communications. The old man concluded that the fire-wielding heretic on the surface hadn't left town, so he sent this armed guard unit 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. Who else would they arrest?"

Bai Zhu sighed.

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

Ignoring his protest, Milluki brought up an aerial map of the town.

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

"These tin cans don't know we're at the inn yet. They didn't find Big Brother underground, 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 sweeping the area, it was only a matter of time before they searched this rundown inn.

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

Bai Zhu threw off the blanket and put his feet on the floor.

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

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

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

Milluki turned to look at Bai Zhu's pale face and trembling legs. His Adam's apple bobbed.

The curse sitting on his lips went around once before he forcibly swallowed it.

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

Bai Zhu lifted his eyelids in surprise.

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

"Lead them 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 caught his breath.

"Now that sounds a little more human."

"Get out."

"Sure thing."

Bai Zhu picked up his coat and turned toward the door.

After taking 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 clad anime girl in battle-damaged clothing, her expression bashful and her curves astonishing.

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

"Milluki, you've got guts."

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, but you actually put it 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 with urgency.

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

"The difference is huge!!!"

Bai Zhu bent down, smoothed out the wrinkles on the pillow, and gave the anime girl printed on it a pat on the head.

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

"You were thinking about drooling on her?!" Milluki's eyes nearly popped out.

"Not drooling already shows my exceptionally high moral standards. No need to thank me."

Milluki finally snapped and slammed a palm onto the console.

"Touch her again and I'll broadcast your coordinates to every tin can out there!"

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

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

"Get out—!"

"Look at you, getting all worked up."

Unable to endure it any longer, Milluki kicked beneath the table.

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

They made two dull thuds.

Bai Zhu looked down.

"What goodies are these?"

"Open them yourself." Milluki sounded irritated.

Bai Zhu bent down and flipped open the lids.

Six Black-Shelled Rhinoceros Beetles lay neatly inside the boxes.

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

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

Bai Zhu raised a brow.

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

"Exploding Beetles." Milluki lowered his voice, and his earlier irritation disappeared.

"They're different from those Scouting Spiders and Exploding Mosquitoes used for reconnaissance. These are pure offensive weapons, designed specifically for Nen Ability users."

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

"How powerful are they?"

"If one explodes in someone's face, even an ordinary Nen Ability user using Ken for defense would die on the spot. Even with a little distance, it can still blow someone into a cripple."

Bai Zhu immediately snapped the boxes shut and stuffed them into his pocket.

"Fuck, you should've said so earlier! I almost started fiddling with one using my hand."

"They recognize my commands right now." Milluki tapped at the keyboard and entered several lines of code. "I gave you temporary voice-activation authority."

A brief red flash shone from inside the metal boxes, confirming authorization.

"Don't use them carelessly. The buildings in town are packed too tightly, and there are too many civilians and innocent believers. Once they go off, you definitely won't be able to get away either."

Milluki stared at the screen.

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

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

He knew exactly how much those things meant.

The underground operation was still underway.

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

Milluki could not move.

Giving him such a last-resort weapon was equivalent to Milluki forcibly stuffing a life-saving trump card into Bai Zhu's half-crippled body.

Bai Zhu fastened his coat.

He turned toward the door and grabbed the handle.

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