Residential Adventure

Qin Su had never intended to use the Law-Ruler Core as bait; the greatest bait was himself. Armed Dolls had clashed with humans before, proving that autonomous machines could be used to exterminate humanity. As long as the Tenth Law-Rulers harbored ambitions of wiping out mankind, they would surely take the bait.

"Just as expected." Someone had already begun tailing them from a distance. The biological tissue on the T-800s' surfaces had been replaced, and as long as no one carefully examined their biological disguises, they would not be exposed. Qin Su guessed that the Law-Ruler Core they had taken had given them away. Though he did not know the principle behind it, he pretended not to notice. The T-800 and T-1000 continued with the original plan, heading like ordinary people toward the underground hangar at 36 Oak Street in the eastern district.

Five T-800s and three T-1000s undergoing routine maintenance were stationed in the underground hangar. Even if those Terminators were destroyed, their enemies would assume it could not possibly end so easily.

Numerous T-1000s and T-800s lay in wait nearby. Those scattered around the area were the real main course. Still, they were also even larger bait, and it was not their time to take the stage yet. Besides, Qin Su did not think his pitifully few, not particularly powerful Terminators could defeat a group of Tenth Law-Rulers.

Late at night, most people in the world had already entered their dreams. Yet in the minds of some sleepless people, a fierce debate was underway.

"What are everyone's thoughts on the death of our comrade Yars today?" The first person to speak was a refined man in a suit. Within the Law-Ruler group, status was demonstrated by speaking order, and only intelligence determined that order.

The First Speaker continued, "Other than the Armed Dolls, most of which have already disappeared, we have never seen combat machines like these. Before his death, Comrade Yars sent us some footage of them."

"In my view, Fire Moth has no such robots internally. The previous Armed Dolls were also forced out of production after developing free will." This person was clearly a high-ranking official within Fire Moth.

"I do not believe they are worth wasting our energy on."

"A comrade's life should not be wasted in vain."

"Agreed. We should first investigate 36 Oak Street."

The others voiced their agreement. The internal discussions of the Thousand-Man Law-Ruler were utterly unlike ordinary debates. They were like a group of absolutely rational planners. Even when disagreements arose, they did not quarrel emotionally, but briefly stated their reasons for opposition or their suggestions.

"After the discussion concludes, form a five-person investigation team. Next, we will continue discussing the Divine Keys. Our primary objective remains the Divine Keys." The man in the suit made the final decision.

Inside Fire Moth's base, an adjutant held a tablet as she reported the latest discovery to Dr. Mei. "Dr. Mei, one of our patrolling soldiers has gone missing. He was found dead in an alley."

Dr. Mei took the tablet and swiped her fingers across its screen. After reading through it, she asked, "Was it the work of a Law-Ruler?"

The adjutant shook her head. "No. According to the autopsy report, this soldier was a Law-Ruler, and his Law-Ruler Core has already been removed."

Mei fell silent for a moment. She had already reached a conclusion. Her gloved hand gently stroked her chin as she continued thinking. There are only two reasons to take a Law-Ruler Core: research and use. As for research, all Law-Ruler Cores are in our hands, and the outside world knows nothing about them. Taking one for research would not be strange. But if it is for use, then this is troublesome. The best use for these Law-Ruler Cores is to build Divine Keys.

As Fire Moth's divine weapons for fighting Law-Rulers, the method of manufacturing Divine Keys was considered the highest secret within Fire Moth. That meant Fire Moth might already have been infiltrated like a sieve, though it was also possible that some genius had independently figured out how to make Divine Keys. However, Dr. Mei believed that possibility was close to zero.

An internal investigation is necessary, but now is not the time. Recklessly purging the organization would only cause greater losses. Spies can also become double-edged swords. I can feed them false information...

She adjusted her glasses and said, "Send me the autopsy report. I will handle this matter."

"Yes, Doctor." The adjutant nodded and withdrew.

On the outskirts of the city, a Law-Ruler team was observing 36 Oak Street from a nearby high-rise. They could not only observe the exterior, but see through the inside as well. Their so-called vision was not direct sight; rather, one of them could easily use electric currents and magnetic fields to achieve a form of penetration. The Tenth Law-Rulers were this kind of existence. They possessed the types of abilities held by all previous Law-Rulers, but because their Law-Ruler Cores lacked sufficient energy levels, they could usually wield only a portion of those abilities.

After confirming the situation, the five quickly retreated and returned to their hideout to prepare weapons and tools for the attack. Though they had deliberately avoided surveillance cameras, they could not evade satellites roaming through space, especially under such clear skies.

"The plan begins. Commencing environmental variable control..." Qin Su controlled the T-800s and T-1000s inside 36 Oak Street, draping them in optical camouflage cloth.

Sure enough, at dusk, five people approached from different directions and gathered at a street corner.

"Comrade Martha, can you sense the situation inside now?" the leader asked through their mental link.

"I already checked. There's no one inside." Martha, the Law-Ruler by that name, shook her head.

"Then let's go." The leader pushed open the half-closed door. Martha gave no warning of any traps, and the group boldly walked straight in. They began moving around the house and investigating it. The building was spotless, without a speck of dust on the floor. They could even see their own faces reflected in the polished tiles.

A current crackled. Martha gently activated an electronic switch hidden beneath the bookshelf. The others looked toward her. She said nothing, instead signaling for one of them to enter the elevator that had just risen from the floor. A young man stepped forward without hesitation and entered the elevator. Since he possessed invisibility, he could only be the first to brave the danger.

His body gradually became transparent until it completely blended into the silvery-white elevator. However, that ability offered no advantage against Terminators with thermal vision.

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a hall. A radiation warning sign was posted beside the doors. A massive United Nations flag hung on the gray wall, with a bookshelf below it filled with all kinds of books. Beside the shelf stood an old mechanical clock, its ticking like a lit lighter inching toward the fragile fuse of the bomb within his heart. The metal rack against the left wall was piled with parts and tools of unknown use, while the rack on the right held various unopened canned foods.

This place looked rather like a survivalist's shelter. He cautiously inspected his surroundings, but there was nothing else besides those things. After searching carefully for several minutes, the Invisible Law-Ruler said through the mental link, "You can come down now. I don't see anything."

They believed from the bottom of their hearts that this was a trap. Sending one person ahead was merely a matter of luck; if the scout died, they could retreat openly and honorably. Although the Thousand-Man Law-Ruler did not fear death, they only wanted sacrifices that brought obvious benefits. They neither wished to waste time here nor offer up their lives. Only Divine Keys were worthy of making these proud Law-Rulers charge forward one after another.

The Law-Rulers entered the elevator in succession. It was quiet inside, without the faint hum an ordinary elevator should have had, but the silent, cramped space only made them more nervous.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened. The Invisible Law-Ruler stood in the center, waiting for their arrival. This adventure was as tasteless as chicken ribs—hardly worth having, yet too regrettable to discard. But since they were already here, how could they return empty-handed?

They walked forward and pushed over a solid wooden desk that blocked all light and had storage compartments. Once the dust settled, a small tightly locked door appeared before them, only large enough for one person to pass through. There was a round hole where the doorknob should have been. Martha was not foolish enough to stick her finger into it. Blue arcs of electricity rose from her fingertips, and with a light touch into the hole, the small door opened.

The scene before them had a peculiar minimalist style: plain white walls, with many parts and tools arranged beside three workbenches. There were also two crude chambers with exposed metal frames, apparently maintenance bays. There were none of the imagined industrial robotic arms crisscrossing the room. Building an underground repair facility in the city Fire Moth valued most was somewhat unrealistic.

Beside the corner of one workbench sat a shipping carton wrapped in a black plastic bag. Martha tore open both bag and box, revealing only a regular quadrangular pyramid carved with intricate curved patterns. Blue circuits flashed rhythmically across its surface.

Martha signaled for the people around her to protect her, then carefully touched its strange, dazzling patterns. Only now did she sense the faint energy pulse of a Law-Ruler Core. It seemed this device was meant to reduce the Honkai energy fluctuations emitted by the core. Apparently, they had arrived just in time; the device had nearly been taken away.

A soft snap sounded, but it was not the sound of it opening. Martha's brows curved slightly as she tilted her head and carefully identified the source. It was definitely not the sound of metal. It was the sound of some kind of cloth falling to the ground.

The ambushing Terminators shed their optical camouflage cloth in an instant. Their cold red electronic eyes reflected the group's figures as their hulking steel bodies advanced. The Law-Rulers gathered together and assumed fighting stances. They had stepped into the first layer of the trap.

Qin Su could not help looking forward to their splendid performance.

PS: The first fifty chapters were written before the main story reached the Thousand-Man Law-Ruler, and many parts have been revised. If there are minor inaccuracies, feel free to point them out.

The Thousand-Man Law-Ruler of the Previous Era and the Thousand-Man Law-Ruler of the Current Era are very different. First, the special trait of the Previous Era's Thousand-Man Law-Ruler was that they possessed the abilities of other Law-Rulers from the very beginning, though only weakly. The Current Era's did not. Their authority of domination also manifested differently: the Previous Era's Thousand-Man Law-Ruler tended to seize the authority of Divine Keys, while the Current Era's Thousand-Man Law-Ruler preferred living Law-Rulers.

Second, there was the matter of thought and action. The Previous Era seemed to be a civilization centered on rationality, so the Thousand-Man Law-Ruler in the comics resembled a shadow army united in purpose, plotting before acting. But the Current Era, having undergone the influence of humanism and left-wing thought, instead had a Thousand-Man Law-Ruler more like a loose, cunning bandit group focused on sensory gratification.