She Is Not Human

Chapter 8

The middle-aged man glanced at Max a few times but got no reaction from him, which only added to his uncertainty. He couldn't sit still anymore and suddenly stood up: "Mr. Anderson…”

"Sit down, Mayor Smith." Max placed his hand on the man's shoulder and gave a faint smile. "Looks like your son isn't as useless as you think. At least he managed to sneak in with me—that's something."

Hearing this, Mayor Smith felt a bit embarrassed. He had come to talk to Max about something important today but ended up catching his own son trying to kidnap someone else's sister! Even though Max hadn't brought it up directly, how could someone as savvy as Mayor Smith not realize what Maya meant to Max after all these years?

Now here Max was smiling and complimenting him while actually putting so much pressure on him that it felt like his shoulder might c***k.

You see, Mayor Smith isn't just any ordinary guy—he represents the Radiant Organization in City 9. Forget being crushed into bones; he wouldn't even flinch if hit by machine police batons or sniper bullets flying at him at a hundred meters per second.

But right now, he was sweating bullets from both pain and fear.

A bit disheveled, he plopped back into his seat and wiped off some sweat while grumbling, "I'll give that brat an earful when I get home! He thinks my words are just nonsense! I told him over and over!"

Max didn't say anything more either. Changing gears, he asked casually, "Do you know where they went?"

“Well…”

"You don't even keep track of things happening around City 9? How can you work for the Radiant Organization?" Max asked coolly.

Mayor Smith was quick on his feet. He thought for a moment and then added, "No, no... I mean, of course I know. A couple of high-ranking officials' kids from City 5 came to us just two days ago, saying they were planning to hold a gambling game, and my troublemaker should join in.

Max asked, "What kind of gambling?"

"That's still under wraps. The info says they'll spill the details on the day at the venue—right at the top of the Light Source building, which is the tallest in City 9."

"I'll check it out too." Max stood up straight.

"Mr. Anderson, listen..."

"Mayor Smith, we've been working together for years; you know how this goes. I'll do my part for you, but don't push me on things that aren't your business."

Max's words might sound pretty harsh and uncomfortable to those in power; people who have climbed up high usually don't like being talked down to by someone below them. But right now, Mayor Smith seemed unfazed by it all—he didn't seem bothered one bit. All he noticed was that Max promised he'd take care of things; he let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was worth coming here personally.

Anyway, Mayor Smith wouldn't dare make any rash moves until he figured out more about Max's background.

So what's this Radiant Organization? It's one of three groups fighting against robot domination. To stand against robots means you first have to get through human space—and pass through that weird door! But honestly? The chances of surviving when crossing those electric-filled gates have scared off many humans over time.

But Max has already helped four folks from the Radiant Organization cross over safely. It may not sound like much, but only four people have ever come asking him for help! What does having a hundred percent success rate say? How could an old pro like Mayor Smith not see that?

Now, whatever Max asks for—as long as he's willing to help their people travel through time—Mayor Smith is ready to agree to anything.

"Mr. Anderson, do you think we're going to wait until the game starts later? Or are we taking my son's airship?" Mayor Smith casually switched Max's "I" to "we," making his intentions pretty clear.

Max didn't call him out on it; he just replied, "Let's get there before them."

"Alright, I'll get ready right away."

Honestly, Mayor Smith is a bit selfish. He's never dared to act too boldly because he doesn't really know what Max is all about. Even though Max has always been friendly towards them compared to other groups, that friendliness feels like it's controlled by someone else, and nobody feels completely at ease. He'd been wanting to figure out Max's true nature for a while now, and this seemed like a perfect chance.

From reliable sources, he heard there are some big players among the kids from City 5 this time around. Mayor Smith isn't dumb enough to pick a fight with Max and risk offending him; the folks from City 5 don't have any idea who they're dealing with when it comes to Max.

Maya had just hopped onto Little Eric's airship. She was so expressionless during the ride that Little Eric thought she might be upset.

Was she mad? Having to deal with those so-called upper-class people again probably reminded her of those creepy old men who tried to take advantage of her.

With that thought in mind, Little Eric blurted out something awkwardly reassuring: "Actually, I knew it was too late for us already, but don't worry—it won't happen again." He wasn't even sure what he was trying to explain; he just wanted Maya not to feel uneasy.

But Maya wasn't really thinking about anything at all. Mechanical life forms live such long lives that they often zone out and call it "standby" as a way of passing time.

So here was this girl in front of him, totally ignoring Little Eric's good intentions—she just stared off into space until they reached their destination and then yawned: "Ah-hoo."

"Huh?" Little Eric looked at her weirdly and glanced around as if expecting something unusual to happen nearby.

The Radiance Tower, right in the middle of City 9, is this massive three-thousand-story spiral structure that looks like it's reaching for the sky.

The light pouring out from the whole building makes everything within a hundred meters as bright as day.

As Maya got closer to the tower, she felt like she was stepping back into some well-lit mechanical space.

This metal-clad building represents all kinds of wild human imagination and serves as an awesome hangout spot for top celebrities.

Maya had been here twice before with Little Eric—once at an auction and once at a fancy food exhibition. It was her first time making bets in a place filled with high-class folks.

Anyone who can openly bet in spots like this definitely has some serious power backing them up.

On the airship, Little Eric's maid had already dressed Maya up in a stunning deep blue gown that hugged her curves perfectly and matched her eye color, just like moonlight mixed with starlight.

With just a bit of makeup and her long hair flowing down to her waist, she looked refined and elegant. Even Little Eric, who usually didn't pay much attention to how Maya looked, couldn't help but stare at her face for a few seconds.

"Maya, just walk out there looking like this! I'm really worried those guys will turn into wolves and tear you apart." Little Eric joked as he reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and took a whiff near her nose playfully.

"A celebrity is still just herself deep down; I admire that!"

A sarcastic female voice came from behind them. Maya turned around to see two gorgeous women strutting their stuff together. They were decked out in fancy outfits with black hair and fair skin, tall with an air of confidence about them.

One of them, with a bit of a heroic vibe, was Miss "The Explosive Package," who had shown up that day just to stir up trouble for Maya. The other one was Patricia, Maya's sworn enemy, who had just gotten engaged to the vice mayor's grandson.

Maya was a regular girl trying to fit into high society, but she wasn't alone in that struggle—Patricia was in the same boat. One was an orphan from the clinic, while the other was the granddaughter of some neighborhood office director.

Patricia thought she had it way better than Maya. She couldn't stop obsessing over how she was only engaged to one of the vice mayor's grandsons while Maya has his only son right by her side. That always made her target Maya.

To Patricia, Maya is just some lowly meat seller; she figures there's no telling how many guys she's been with to get close to little Eric—and everyone knows little Eric is quite a catch! What kind of decent women could he possibly have around him? At least Patricia thinks she's much cleaner than Maya!

As soon as she got there, seeing Little Eric acting all flirty naturally led her to blame it on Maya's supposed seduction tactics—she wanted everyone to see how affectionate they were being together.

So Patricia threw out some snarky comments, but Barbara shot Maya a knowing look and didn't say anything back. The last time they faced off in front of each other didn't go well for Barbara; now she felt stuck without any way to let out her frustration publicly.

Life can be pretty mechanical and doesn't really care about gender. If Maya had been in a guy's body instead, maybe she'd have found Barbara interesting because she's clean-cut—but since she's female herself, those two ladies didn't even register on her radar. She just walked right past them without giving them so much as a glance.

Patricia might've been ignored before by others too, but this time it stung because it came from Maya so casually. Gritting her teeth, she shouted out: "Maya! We've heard all about you—you're so full of yourself!"

Little Eric, who was already competing with the vice mayor's crew, especially when it came to Patricia—a pretty but totally clueless woman—wasn't looking too happy. He frowned and then turned his head with a bright smile: "Oh? What did you hear?"

"Oh, I heard..."

Before Patricia could finish her sentence, there was a stir in the crowd as someone suddenly pointed up at the sky: "It's the Phantom Airship!"

The top landing platform of the Light Source Tower slowly rose up, and down came this arrow-shaped Phantom series limited edition airship, shining like crazy in silver light. It descended right into the power mist without making a sound.

This is basically the only limited-edition airship out there that combines stealth and speed. There are only three of them in all human space! Most of the guests who thought they were upper-class were seeing it for the first time, and everyone was buzzing with excitement.

"No wonder it's from City 5—the richest city around."

"Who on earth is this big shot?"

As soon as people stepped out of the airship, they became instant celebrities. Even their bodyguards in white suits wearing half-silver masks looked super mysterious.

Maya didn't really care about who was coming, but found herself staring at one guy among those bodyguards.

That guy... something felt off. With Maya's mental perception skills, she couldn't even sense him at all! He was right there in front of her, but felt almost invisible—like he blended into thin air.

It seemed like he noticed Maya looking at him because he turned his head slightly; half his face hidden behind that silver mask made it hard to see him clearly. But she could still make out his striking eyes, nice lips, and strong jawline.

He had this unique charm that just stuck with you, even if you didn't get a good look at his face right away.

When he caught Maya's eye, he didn't stick around; instead, he looked right through her and past her.

It was one of just five VIP rooms in the whole place, and in front of the big glass porthole stood a guy in black. He had this cold, serious vibe that felt totally disconnected from everything else, and his dark eyes were as deep as an abyss.

As he stared at where the man was standing, the masked guy slowly cracked a lazy smile.

Max, you really did come for her.